DOG 


TOWN 


GIFT   OF 
A.   P.   Morrison 


DOGTOWN 


After  the  Battle. 


See  page  99 


DOGTOWN 


BEING  SOME  CHAPTERS  FROM  THE  ANNALS  OF 

THE   WADDLES    FAMILY,    SET    DOWN   IN 

THE  LANGUAGE  OF  HOUSEPEOPLE 


BY 


MABEL   OSGOOD  WRIGHT 

if 

AUTHOR  OF  "TOMMY-ANNE,"  "THE  FRIENDSHIP  OF  NATURE 
"  BIRDCRAFT,"  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  PORTRAITS  FROM  LIFE 
BY  THE  AUTHOR 


Nefo  gorfc 
THE   MACM1LLAN   COMPANY 

LONDON:  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 
1906 

All  rights  reserved 


COPYRIGHT,  1902, 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped  October,  1902.      Reprinted  Decembei 
1902.  «  * 

New  edition  Septemoer,  1906. 


J.  8.  Gushing  &  Co.  -  Berwick  &  Smith 
Norwood  Mass.  U.S.A. 


M/4/A) 


"  SUCH  soft,  warm  bodies  to  cuddle, 

Such  queer  little  hearts  to  beat ; 
Such  swift,  round  tongues  to  kiss, 

Such  sprawling,  cushiony  feet. 
She  could  feel  in  her  clasping  fingers 

The  touch  of  the  satiny  skin, 
And  a  cold,  wet  nose  exploring 

The  dimples  under  her  chin." 


i5  for 
all 
u/fyo 
etyildrep 


M95675 


I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 


iEnter  Jftrs. 
iftligs  ILettg  anfc  Camlet 
trouble  Begins       . 
lEitt  ilumberlegs     . 
Sack  antj  Jill  HHattlee  . 
Cable  Boarders       . 
Jibe  ©'clock 


TOitcft    . 
Colti  bg  tfje  fire     . 
"  ©bet  tfje  ^tll0  anti  Jar 
Efje  billets    .        .        . 
Ben  mncas's  Hast  ?^unt 
Eije  Barbeti  OTtre  fence 
Efje 


" 


I 

28 
60 
81 
104 
138 
171 
201 
220 
247 
274 
300 
331 
367 
399 


Angel  Dogs. 


Illustration 


FULL   PAGES 


AFTER  THE  BATTLE  . 


Frontispiece 


DINAH,  LARK,  PHCEBE,  AND  BOBWHITE 
THE  MAYOR  OP  DOGTOWN 
HAPPY'S  FIRST  VIEW  OF  WADDLES  . 
Miss  LETTY 


vn 

.  15 

.  22 

.  38 

TOMMY  AND  LUMBERLEGS  .......  61 

"  HE  STOOD  TRANSFIXED1'  .......  79 

Miss  MUFFET,  BROTHER,  AND  LUMBERLEGS      .         .         .  102 

TOAD  HUNTING 118 

"ANNE  DREW  BACK  THE  CURTAIN  AND  LOOKED  OUT"     .  134 

ANNE  AND  TOMMY      .....••'  147 

WADDLES  BAYING  THE  OWLS     ......  163 

"WADDLES  DREW  BACK  AND  EYED  IT  RUEFULLY"          .  168 

"  ONE    LUMP    OR    TWO,    PLEASE  ?  " 181 

THE  HERB  WITCH 240 

Miss  LETTY  FEEDING  THE  KENNEL  DOGS         .        .         .  271 

xi 


xii  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

"PULLING  A  BRANCH  DOWN  WITH  HER  WHIP"         .        .  277 

"HE  STOOD  IN  HIS  GATEWAY  HOLDING  HIS  GUN"    .         .  286 

ANTONIO  AND  THE  YOUNG  SPANIELS          ....  292 

THE  SIXLETS       .........  301 

NAMING  THE  PUPS      ........  318 

ON  GUARD  ..........  326 

THE  REWARD     .........  347 

BEN  UNCAS         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  354 

JIM  (Seeley  photo)     ........  362 

"Miss  LETTY  WAS  WAITING  WITH  A  SMILE"  .         .         .  377 

TOMMY  WALKED  ON  IN  SILENCE        .....  381 

TOMMY  MEETS  THE  RABBIT        ......  385 

IN   TEXT 

MRS.  WADDLES  ........  1 

AUNT  PRUE  AND  THE  CAT  BASKET  .....  8 

WADDLES  GREETING  AUNT  PRUE       .....  12 

ANNE  AND  Fox  .........  30 

HAMLET  BEGGING  (Pach  photo)        .....  43 

HAMLET  READING  (Pach  photo)         .....  46 

MR.  HUGH'S  HORSE  ........  54 

"HlS  HEAVY  CURLS  WERE  A  MAT  OF  MUD  AND  BURRS  "  58 

"THE  MAIL  BAG  SWINGING  FROM  ITS  GALLOWS  "    .      .  64 

LlLY  ...........  65 

THE  GAME  OF  SNATCH  BONE     ......  71 

WADDLES  DETHRONED        .......  74 

LUMBERLEGS          .........  81 

WADDLES  SNIFFING  THE  MORNING  AIR     ....  90 

WHEN  WADDLES  WAS  ILL          ......  100 

JACK  AND  JILL  WADDLES          ......  104 

CURIOSITY  ......  115 

WRESTLING         .........  121 

"JACK  WATCHED  HER  OUT  OF  THE  CORNER  OF  ONE  EYE"  127 

JACK  WADDLES  .....                  ...  129 

THE  JAY  AT  BREAKFAST  .......  154 

AN  OWL  BABY  .         .  158 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xiii 

PAGE 

MAMMA  OWL 160 

THE  DAYTIME  PERCH 165 

"BUTTER'S  COME  !" 178 

"THEY  \VERE  HERALDED  BY  MUCH  CREAKING  OF  WHEELS"  185 

WADDLES  FINDS  THE  CAKE  BASKET          ....  199 

A  HEN  PARTY 201 

AT  THE  CROSS-ROADS 221 

THE  CHICKEN  COOP 227 

THE  HERB  WITCH'S  HOME        ......  228 

"ALSO  GEESE  THAT  MAKE  GOOD  GUIDE-POSTS  "        .         .  246 

THE  KENNEL  YARD .         .256 

A  BOARDER .  258 

THE  PUPPIES'  BATH-TUB 262 

IN  THE  KENNEL  KITCHEN           ......  265 

MARTIN  BAKING  BREAD 266 

READY  FOR  TRAVEL 268 

FLO  POINTING     .         .         .         .         .         .         .                  .  281 

SlLVER-TONGUE                .             .             .             .             .             .             .             .  296 

HAPPY  AT  HOME         .         . 307 

BIG  BROTHER 309 

IN  MISCHIEF 312 

LEAP-FROG 322 

OUT  OF  SCHOOL 324 

"DRINK,  PUPPY,  DRINK!" 330 

WATCHING  OUT 335 

QUICK 338 

COLIN 344 

"A    GREAT    OWL   WITH    A    SMOOTH    ROUND    HEAD"         .             .  383 

THE  BRIDE  ' 401 

"TOMMY  SHOUTED  'ME!'"        .         .         .         .         .         .  402 

"HE  SUCCEEDED  IN  SITTING  UPRIGHT"    ....  404 

"TlP  MOUNTED  GUARD  UNTIL  NIGHT  CAME"    .         .         .  405 


DOGTOWN 


CHAPTER   I     .   •     ,  r     ;  .:r, 

ENTER   MRS.    WADDLES 

HAPPY  sat  -by  the  watering-trough,  waiting  for 
Baldy  to  come  for  the  milking  pails  and  go  for  the 
cows. 


2  DOGTOWN 

Waddles,  lying  on  the  sunny  side  of  the  lilac 
hedge,  was  also  waiting  for  this  important  evening 
happening;  and  though  nothing  in  his  appearance 
told  .thai;  he  was  on  the  watch,  for  his  back  was 
to  wards  lfctm  .barn,  yet  he  would  know  when  Baldy 
tfros^e'd  th&  yard  to  wash  his  hands  at  the  pump, 
gauge  'the  time  he  took  to  reach  the  house,  and, 
without  hurrying  or  looking  round,  be  at  his  side 
the  moment  that  the  clashing  of  tin  told  that  he 
had  really  come  for  the  pails. 

Seated  on  the  stone  wall,  Anne  and  Miss  Letty 
were  also  waiting,  partly  for  Baldy,  but  chiefly  to 
hear  the  evening  music  that  would  soon  come  from 
the  wooded  field  edge  and  near-by  garden,  for  it 
was  a  lovely  May  afternoon.  In  the  morning 
there  had  been  a  warm  rain  that  made  worm 
pulling  and  bug  hunting  a  pleasure  instead  of 
labour  for  the  birds,  and  the  air  was  full  of  scraps 
of  song. 

You  have  not  met  Happy  before,  or  Miss  Letty 
either.  Happy  was  a  beagle  hound,  with  long, 
tan-coloured  ears,  the  daintiest  bit  of  a  nose,  a 
plump  body  marked  and  ticked  with  tan  and 
black,  and  eyes  of  such  beseeching  softness  that  if 
she  but  looked  at  you  when  you  were  eating,  you 
were  impelled  to  give  her  the  very  last  morsel,  no 
matter  what  your  hunger  might  be. 


ENTER   MRS.    WADDLES  3 

Her  legal  name  and  pedigree  was  recorded  in  the 
Westminster  Kennel  Club  register  as  "  Cadence 
out  of  Melody,  by  Flute,  breeder  J.  Sanford,  Hill 
top  Kennels,"  and  really  for  two  years  of  her 
life  she  had  been  merely  a  kennel  dog.  Now 
she  was  a  lady  of  distinction,  a  real  person  be 
loved  of  Anne,  Happy,  of  Happy  Hall,  mother  of 
twin  pups,  Jack  and  Jill,  and  wife  of  no  less  hon 
ourable  a  person  than  Waddles,  who,  now  past  mid 
dle  age,  portly  and  sedate,  was  Mayor  of  Dogtown 
and  an  undisputed  authority  on  all  matters  of  dog 
law  and  etiquette. 

If  you  should  look  for  Dogtown  on  the  map 
of  the  county  where  Happy  Hall,  Anne's  home,  is 
located,  you  would  not  find  it,  for  it  is  really  con 
cealed  under  the  pretty  name  of  Woodlands,  and 
was  discovered  quite  by  accident  by  Anne's  Aunt 
Prue. 

Now  Aunt  Prue  was  one  of  those  ladies  who 
prefer  indoors  to  outdoors,  and  cats  to  dogs.  The 
"  Fireside  Sphinx  "  has  many  virtues,  and  its  rights 
should  be  respected,  only  it  is  a  very  strange  thing 
that  people  who  love  cats  cannot  seem  to  fully 
appreciate  dogs,  which  of  course  are  the  superior 
animals. 

One  day,  a  couple  of  years  before  this  time, 
when  Lumberlegs,  the  St.  Bernard,  then  an  awk- 


4  DOGTOWN 

ward  pup,  was  a  new  arrival,  and  the  Widow  Dog 
Lily,  who  had  been  rescued  from  starving  by  Miss 
Jule,  had  been  adopted  by  Tommy  and  become  his 
guardian,  Aunt  Prue  had  come  unexpectedly  to 
pay  her  brother,  Anne's  father,  a  visit. 

She  had  not  intended  to  arrive  unannounced, 
for  she  liked  to  be  met  by  the  best  go-to-meeting 
surrey  and  pair.  But  travelling  and  even  plan 
ning  for  it  always  flustered  her ;  and  when  she 
wrote  to  tell  of  her  plans,  after  spoiling  three 
sheets  of  paper,  she  directed  the  letter  to  an 
other  brother  in  Texas.  Consequently,  when 
she  arrived  at  the  Woodlands  station  at  noon 
of  a  blazing  July  day, — she  always  took  mid 
day  trains,  it's  apt  to  thunder  in  the  afternoon,  — 
there  was  no  one  there  to  meet  her.  "  No,  marm, 
no  hacks  here  to-day,"  said  the  station  master  in 
answer  to  her  request  for  one ;  "  no  use  in  'phon-' 
ing  the  stable  either,  all  the  teams  here  about  have 
gone  to  the  Sunday-school  picnic,  and  I  reckon 
the  only  folks  to  home  is  dogs."  So  saying  he 
banged  down  his  office  window  and  drifted  across 
the  road  to  dinner. 

Aunt  Prue  paused  and  set  down  a  stout  wicker 
basket  with  an  open-work  top  that  she  carried, 
straightened  her  bonnet,  felt  in  her  glove  to  be 
sure  that  her  trunk  check  and  return  ticket  were 


ENTER   MRS.    WADDLES  5 

safe.  She  always  bought  a  return  ticket  as  a  sort 
of  guarantee  of  safety,  but  usually  lost  it  before  it 
could  be  used. 

She  looked  up  the  hill  road.  There  was  the 
store  and  post-office,  then  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of 
open  before  the  shade  began,  not  a  living  thing 
was  in  sight;  it  was  too  hot  for  even  the  chickens 
to  scratch  up  the  dust. 

The  basket  at  her  feet  began  to  roll  about  un 
cannily,  for  in  it  was  Miss  Prue's  tortoise-shell 
tabby  cat,  which  she  always  took  visiting  when 
she  was  going  to  stay  more  than  two  nights.  In 
politics  Miss  Prue  was  a  stanch  monarchist  of  the 
old-time,  "  off-with-his-head  "  variety.  The  cat's 
name  was  Kaiserin  Augusta  Victoria,  and  never, 
even  in  the  most  informal  and  playful  moments, 
was  she  called  either  Gussie  or  Vic. 

A  violent  scratching  in  the  basket  was  followed 
by  a  long-drawn  meow  !  Miss  Prue  took  a  small 
tin  pan  from  her  satchel  and  went  toward  the 
pump  to  give  the  pet  a  drink ;  but  as  she  only 
pumped  a  couple  of  strokes,  the  water  was  tepid 
and  not  to  her  taste.  She  always  gave  the  cat  iced 
water,  so  she  put  up  the  tin.  Poor  K.  A.  V., 
smothering  in  the  basket,  would  have  been  grate 
ful  for  a  lap  of  anything  that  was  wet —  even  pud 
dle  water  or  sour  milk  ;  but  she  was  not  consulted, 


6  DOGTOWN 

and  her  temper  waxed  fierce.  If  people  could 
only  realize  that  the  faults  of  their  pets  are  chiefly 
of  their  own  making,  they  would  be  more  careful 
to  look  at  those  things  that  concern  an  animal 
from  its  point  of  view  instead  of  their  own. 

With  one  more  glance  at  the  road,  Miss  Prue 
settled  the  basket  firmly  on  her  arm  and  trudged 
off.  Augusta  Victoria  was  not  happy  and,  more 
over,  she  was  determined  to  get  out  of  the  basket. 

For  a  few  moments  she  sat  in  sullen  silence 
making  herself  heavy,  as  only  an  animal  being 
moved  against  its  will  knows  how  to  do.  The 
post-office  was  reached,  and  Miss  Prue  paused  a  few 
moments  to  rest  on  the  steps.  Happy  thought  I 
There  was  a  late  morning  mail ;  perhaps  the  family 
had  not  yet  called  for  it,  as  they  were  sure  to  do, 
for  her  brother  being  a  literary  man  was  very  par 
ticular  about  his  letters.  She  would  inquire. 

"  Nope,"  replied  the  girl  who  was  tending  office 
during  the  noon  hour  and  preparing  to  hie  to  the 
picnic  later  by  taking  her  hair  out  of  curl  papers 
and  combing  it  into  a  mossy-looking  bank  above 
her  freckled  forehead,  "  your  folks  live  beyond  a 
mile,  and  the  rural  delivery  fetches  'em  their 
letters  most  times." 

Poor  Miss  Prue !  She  crossed  over  to  "  the 
leading  grocer's,"  where  "  soft  drinks  "  were  con- 


ENTER   MRS.    WADDLES  7 

spicuously  advertised,  and  asked  for  a  bottle  of 
sarsaparilla. 

"  Sorry,  madam,"  said  the  solitary  clerk,  popping 
up  in  some  confusion.  He  was  finishing  his  toilet, 
preparatory  to  leaving,  by  shaving  himself  at  a 
scrap  of  mirror  resting  on  the  cash  register,  and 
he  came  forward  hurriedly  with  a  billow  of  lather 
where  his  chin  should  have  been.  "  I  very  much 
regret  to  say  that  all  our  liquid  refreshments  ex 
cept  molasses  and  vinegar  are  sold  out  on  account 
of  the  picnic,  but  we  still  have  a  few  Uneeda 
biscuits,  madam,  and  a  small  wedge  of  superior 
extra  mild  cheese,  if  it  would  serve  you  for  a 
luncheon.  Ah,  a  drink  !  You  dont  need  a  bis 
cuit,  not  juicy  enough.  Ha  !  ha  !  I  see,"  and  the 
chiriless  gentleman  retired,  laughing  at  his  own 
wit. 

Miss  Prue  merely  gasped  and  walked  on  without 
answering.  K.  A.  V.  took  a  turn  at  scratching 
and  lunging  and  then  remained  so  passive  that 
her  mistress  began  to  have  qualms  lest  she  should 
have  fainted,  yet  did  not  dare  open  the  basket. 
She  leaned  against  the  fence  and  listened,  puss 
was  breathing.  The  few  cottages  along  the  way 
were  closed  and  silent ;  but  as  she  got  farther  on 
where  the  larger  places  were  scattered,  her  courage 
arose,  for  she  remembered  that  the  Burgess  model 


8 


DOGTOWN 


farm  barns  were  on  the  way,  and  that  there  was  a 

well  close  by  the  fence. 

Yes,  there  it  was  surely,  with  a  bright  clean 

dipper  hanging  by  it. 

She  put  down  the  basket  carefully,  quenched -her 

thirst,  and  then,  after  bathing  her  forehead  with 

her  handkerchief, 
was  feeling  in 
her  bag  for  pus 
sy's  dish,  when  a 
bumping  sound 
made  her  drop  it 
and  turn  hastily. 
K.  A.  V.  had  made 
a  sudden  spring, 
the  basket  was 
plunging  down 
the  bank,  followed 
by  an  inquisitive 
fox  terrier.  Just 
as  the  basket 
stopped  rolling 
the  cat  gave  a  ter 
rified  yowl,  and 
the  terrier  started 
back,  but  only  for 
a  moment. 


ENTER    MRS.   WADDLES  9 

Miss  Prue  seized  the  basket  and  looked  about, 
calling  in  vain  for  help,  but  no  one  came,  only 
more  dogs,  so  she  hurried  back  to  the  road,  closing 
the  gate  behind  her  in  frantic  haste. 

But  what  is  a  bar  gate  to  dogs  ?  Those  that 
could  neither  get  under  or  through,  jumped  over, 
for  the  dogs  at  the  Burgess  farm  were  always  in 
fine  condition.  A  second  fox  terrier  sprang 
between  the  bars,  a  black-and-tan  dachshund 
crawled  under,  while  almost  at  the  same  time  a 
collie  and  a  greyhound  cleared  the  top  rail. 

They  were  polite,  gentlemanly  dogs,  fortunately, 
and  accustomed  to  the  best  society.  They  never 
thought  of  touching  Miss  Prue  ;  but  in  spite  of  her 
gestures  turned  their  attention  to  the  basket,  snif 
fing  and  jostling  it  and  saying  things  in  a  way  to 
put  Augusta  Victoria  into  a  frenzy. 

As  the  strange  party  went  up  the  hill,  the 
pioneer  terrier  running  ahead  seemed  to  spread 
the  news,  for  dogs  of  all  degrees  kept  joining  the 
procession :  the  great  woolly  St.  Bernard,  Rex, 
from  the  doctor's  piazza,  the  farrier's  mongrel 
black-and-tan,  who  happened  to  be  coming  across 
lots,  two  loping  foxhounds  who  belonged  to 
Squire  Burley  and  had  been  taking  a  run  on 
their  own  account,  the  minister's  water  spaniel, 
the  schoolmistress's  pug,  a  white  bull  terrier,  a 


10  DOGTOWN 

comical-looking  sheep  dog  from  the  milk  farm,  and 
lastly,  a  fantastically  arrayed  black  poodle,  with 
his  wool  trimmed  into  as  many  devices  as  the 
tattooing  on  a  Fiji  Islander,  a  silver  bangle  on  one 
leg,  and  a  crimson  satin  bow  on  his  collar,  joined 
the  mob,  in  spite  of  the  frantic  calls  of  a  maid  on 
the  steps  of  the  select  inn,  who  was  striving  to  keep 
him  clean  while  his  owner  was  at  luncheon;  for  this 
particular  poodle  had  his  teeth  cleaned  every  day, 
could  not  roll  in  the  dirt,  and  was  not  as  other 
dogs,  for  which  the  others  were  doubtless  thankful. 

In  a  moment,  however,  he  was  in  the  middle  of 
the  fray,  having  the  time  of  his  life,  enveloped  in 
a  cloud  of  dust,  uttering  the  shrieking  bark  in 
which  a  thoroughbred  poodle  excels,  while  the 
farrier's  cur  promptly  pulled  the  satin  bow  into 
a  string,  and  the  dachshund,  who  had  difficulty  in 
keeping  up  with  the  rest,  nipped  the  hairless  parts 
of  his  hind  legs. 

Aunt  Prue's  last  hope  lay  in  the  sheriff  ;  he 
surely  would  not  be  at  the  picnic.  But  he  was, 
and  his  two  dogs,  Schnapps  and  Friday,  dozing  on 
a  wagon  seat  before  the  stable  door,  suddenly 
waked  and  joined  the  procession. 

Finding  that  gestures  and  threats  were  useless, 
Aunt  Prue  kept  sturdily  on,  shifting  the  basket 
from  one  arm  to  the  other  as  its  weight  increased; 


ENTER   MRS.    WADDLES  11 

for  Augusta  Victoria,  weight  fifteen  pounds, 
springing  lightly  up  a  tree,  and  A.  V.,  dashing 
about  in  the  basket  at  the  end  of  a  hot  walk, 
were  two  wholly  different  cats.  Under  such 
circumstances  "a  mile's  weight"  should  be  an 
allowable  term. 

Just  then  she  heard  the  rattle  of  a  wagon  com 
ing  up  hill,  and  turned  about,  hoping  for  relief. 
In  this  wagon  was  an  old  man  on  his  way  home 
from  the  meadows,  seated  on  an  insecure  load  of 
salt  hay,  in  which  he  was  buried  almost  to  the 
shoulders,  while  a  strip  of  green  cotton  mosquito 
netting  hanging  from  the  edge  of  his  wide  hat, 
somewhat  obscured  his  view  of  the  scenery. 

To  beg  a  ride  was,  under  the  circumstances,  out 
of  the  question ;  but  Aunt  Prue  ventured  to  wave 
her  satchel  and  to  call  out  and  ask  him  to  drive 
the  dogs  away.  But  he  was  deaf  to  her  entreaties, 
for  the  reason  that  he  was  stone  deaf  anyway ;  and 
as  to  the  rest,  he  merely  thought  he  saw  a  vigorous, 
stout,  middle-aged  woman  on  her  return  from 
market  with  an  unusual  lot  of  dogs,  whose  dinner 
she  carried  in  her  basket ;  and  he  drove  on,  trying 
to  reckon  how  much  it  must  cost  to  feed  thirteen 
dogs,  and  set  Aunt  Prue  down  in  his  mind  as 
"another  fool  woman." 

At  last  she  saw  in  the  distance  the  stone  w.all 


12 


DOGTOWN 


that  surrounded  Happy  Hall,  and  then  a  glimpse 
of  the  house  through  the  trees  revived  her;  but 
as  she  passed  in  the  gateless  entrance,  two  new 
and  strange  dogs  greeted  her,  —  Lily  and  Lum- 
berlegs,  —  both  rather  objected  to  the  visitors, 
and  suddenly  Lily  fastened  her  wide  jaws  upon 
the  basket. 

Then  at  last  poor  Aunt  Prue  screamed  loud  and 
long,  and  Waddles,  who  had  at  first  discreetly  sur 
veyed  the  proceedings  from  the  porch,  threw  back 
his  head  and  bayed.  It  was  a  very  funny  scene, 
though  of  course  not  nice  for  Aunt  Prue  ;  but  it 


ENTER    MRS.    WADDLES  13 

often  happens  that  funny  things  are  disagreeable 
to  somebody. 

At  the  double  noise,  doors  flew  open,  Baldy 
ran  from  the  stable,  Anne,  her  father,  mother,  and 
one  of  the  maids  from  the  house,  while  Waddles 
danced  about  and  issued  dog  orders  with  such 
good  effect  that  by  the  combined  efforts  the  in 
truders  were  dispersed,  Aunt  Prue  was  ensconced 
in  a  piazza  rocker  and  was  being  fanned  by  her 
gentle  sister-in-law,  Anne  brought  iced  ginger  ale, 
Baldy  bore  Augusta  Victoria,  basket  and  all,  to  a 
retired  room  in  the  barn,  where  she  could  be  fed 
and  calm  her  nerves,  while  the  father  by  degrees 
unravelled  the  history  of  the  walk. 

At  first  Aunt  Prue  had  cried,  but  now  she  sat 
bolt  upright  and  severe  in  her  chair,  talking  be 
tween  sips  of  ginger  ale  that  would  get  into  her 
nose  and  give  her  a  fuzziness  of  speech. 

"Yes  —  a  most  unparalleled  —  experience  for  a 
lone  woman  —  in  a  civilized  land  —  Woodlands 
you  —  call  the  place  —  faugh !  —  I  say  it's  nothing 
more  or  less  than  Dogtown,  and  it's  lucky  I  bought 
my  return  ticket.  Poor  Augusta  Victoria's  nerves 
are  shattered,  not  to  speak  of  mine,  and  home  we 
go  by  evening  train." 

She  didn't  go,  but  stayed  three  weeks  to  a 
day,  and  had  a  very  good  time  ;  when  she  felt 


14  DOGTOWN 

in  her  moist  gloves  for  the  ticket,  it  was  gone  as 
usual.  But  her  story  and  name  of  Dogtown 
stayed  with  the  region,  and  it  tickled  Miss  Jule 
so,  that  the  very  next  Christmas  she  gave  Anne  a 
large  wooden  box  shaped  like  a  doghouse,  full  of 
note-paper  with  a  group  of  dogs'  heads  and  the 
words  Happy  Hall,  Dogtown,  stamped  across  the 
top  in  blue  and  gold,  which  Anne  always  used 
when  writing  invitations  to  picnics  and  other  ex 
cursions  of  which  she  was  so  fond. 

So  in  time  it  had  come  to  be  that  Waddles 
was  the  acknowledged  head  of  Dogtown  and  its 
people,  these  same  being  three  times  the  number 
that  had  been  the  escort  of  Miss  Prue  and  Augusta 
Victoria.  For  when  people  heard  of  the  doings 
of  the  dogs  at  Happy  Hall,  and  saw  the  beautiful 
setters,  foxhounds,  and  field  spaniels  that  Miss 
Jule  raised  in  the  Hilltop  Kennels  at  the  horse 
farm,  every  one  wanted  a  dog  of  his  or  her  own; 
and  though  Lily  remained  the  only  real  bulldog 
in  the  community,  there  were  several  clever  bull 
terriers,  and  Miss  Letty  brought  back  from  her 
schooling  abroad  a  wonderful  black  poodle,  who 
understood  three  languages. 

Miss  Jule's  dogs  did  not  quite  belong  to  Dog- 
town  as  citizens,  because,  being  kennel  dogs,  they 
were  not  free  to  come  and  go  and  to  express,  their 


The  Mayor  of  Dogtown. 


ENTER   MRS.    WADDLES  17 

opinions  like  the  others.  They  were  as  boarding- 
school  children,  having  fixed  times  for  exercise  and 
play,  in  comparison  to  those  who,  after  school,  run 
free. 

There  are  some  children  who,  though  they  may 
have  good  dispositions,  can  never  be  happy  when 
cooped  up  and  restrained.  Tommy-Anne  had  been 
one  of  these,  and  so  when,  a  year  before,  she  had 
seen  Cadence  the  beagle  sitting  looking  mourn 
fully  through  the  slat  door  of  her  kennel,  where 
she  had  been  shut  by  her  trainer  for  being  heed 
less  and  unmanageable  and  not  obeying  his  direc 
tions,  her  heart  smote  her  and  she  felt  so  intimate 
a  kinship  with  the  little  animal  with  the  hopeless 
eyes,  that  she  went  to  Miss  Jule  to  ask  the  price 
of  Cadence  and  if  she  might  pay  for  her  by  instal 
ments. 

Miss  Jule  loved  animals  dearly,  was  tender 
hearted,  and  had  several  pet  dogs  that  were  al 
most  human;  but  the  kennel  dogs  were  raised  for 
sale,  and  must  be  taught  the  various  trades  that, 
together  with  their  pure  breeding,  made  them 
valuable  and  able  to  earn  their  living. 

No  cruelty  was  allowed  in  the  training-and- 
breaking-to-hunt  process,  but  they  simply  must 
learn.  Martin,  Baldy's  brother,  who  not  only 
broke  colts  under  Miss  Jule's  supervision,  but 


18  DOGTOWN 

trained  both  fox  and  beagle  hounds,  had  said  of 
gentle  Cadence  :  "  She's  no  mortal  use  for  hunt 
ing  rabbits,  she  won't  mind  if  you  chide  her,  unless 
your  very  eyes  are  upon  her,  she  bolts  at  sight 
of  a  gun,  won't  heel  or  gather  with  the  others. 
We  don't  need  her  for  breeding,  and  I  think  she'd 
be  better  out  of  the  way." 

While  Miss  Jule  was  thinking  over  the  matter, 
Anne  had  hurried  home  and  counted  the  contents 
of  her  money  box  replete  with  the  results  of 
Christmas,  a  birthday,  copying  manuscript  for  her 
father,  and  various  dealings  in  rags,  bottles,  and 
old  iron.  She  had  been  saving  seriously  to  buy 
a  camera  holding  glass  plates  that  she  could  de 
velop  herself,  and  so  be  able  to  take  pictures  of 
her  dear  woods  and  flowers,  the  dogs,  and,  best  of 
all,  of  her  father  and  mother  as  they  walked  out  in 
the  garden  together  in  their  everyday  clothes. 

Thirty-seven  dollars  the  money  had  footed  up. 
The  camera  that  she  had  chosen,  together  with  the 
trays,  drying  rack,  red  lantern,  some  plates,  etc., 
would  be  thirty  dollars.  Was  it  possible  that 
Miss  Jule  would  sell  a  thoroughbred  rabbit  hound 
for  seven  dollars  ? 

Anne  knew  that  she  had  often  received  a  hun 
dred  dollars  for  a  well-broken  young  hound ;  but 
poor  Cadence  did  not  seem  to  be  broken  at  all, 


ENTER   MRS.    WADDLES  19 

except  in  spirit,  so  that  might  make  a  difference ; 
anyway,  the  camera  could  wait,  for  she  kept  see 
ing  those  appealing  eyes,  and  had  an  instinctive 
feeling  that  Cadence's  fate  was  in  her  hands. 

"  Sell  Cadence  to  you,  so  she  needn't  be  shut 
up  so  much?  What  will  they  say  at  home  to 
another  dog  about  ?  You  know  it  was  only  last 
week  that  Tommy  told  me  that  Lumberlegs  and 
Lily  grinned  at  each  other  '  awfully,'  and  that 
Waddles  would  not  let  either  of  them  go  to  walk 
with  him.  What  will  your  mother  say  ?  " 

Anne  had  not  thought  of  this,  to  be  sure ;  but 
no  one  at  home  had  ever  objected  to  any  animals 
excepting  white  mice,  and  her  mother  had  rebelled 
at  having  them  kept  in  a  bureau  drawer,  and  finally 
put  t'lem  under  ban. 

As  Anne  grew  older  she  was  more  drawn  toward 
those  of  her  own  race  than  when  as  Tom  my- Anne 
she  had  played  alone ;  but  the  birds  and  little 
beasts  were  still  her  friends  and  brothers,  and  ever 
would  be.  She  would,  if  possible,  get  Cadence 
from  behind  the  bars  and  risk  the  consequences. 

"What  do  you  want  her  for?  She  is  either 
stupid  or  sullen,  and  will  not  even  charge  or  come 
to  heel;  she  will  never  learn  anything." 

"  Please,  Miss  Jule,  I  don't  think  she  is  stupid 
or  ugly,  only  somehow  she  doesn't  understand; 


20  DOGTOWN 

maybe  she  can't  think  when  she  is  shut  up  so 
much.  You  know  that  when  I  was  little  I  could 
never  learn  lessons  in  school,  but  if  I  sat  by  father 
I  couldn't  have  helped  learning  if  I  had  tried." 

Miss  Jule  did  not  smile  at  the  simple  earnest 
ness  of  the  tall  slip  of  a  girl  with  the  great 
dark  eyes  that  looked  so  pleadingly  at  her,  for 
Anne  at  fifteen  believed  as  thoroughly  in  the 
brotherhood  and  rights  of  all  living  things  as  had 
Tommy-Anne  at  five. 

"  Well,  I'll  make  a  bargain  with  you,"  she  said 
at  last ;  "  you  may  have  her  on  a  week's  trial :  if 
you  like  her,  you  shall  have  her  at  a  reasonable 
price  "  (for  Miss  Jule  knew  that  with  Anne's  ideas 
it  would  never  do  to  offer  her  as  a  gift  something 
she  had  offered  to  purchase)  ;  "  if  you  can't  manage 
her,  you  can  bring  her  back.  Perhaps  Waddles 
may  like  her  for  a  mate." 

"  Here,  take  a  leader,"  called  Miss  Jule,  as  Anne 
darted  off  full  of  the  new  idea,  "  she's  as  likely  to 
bolt  off  to  the  next  county  as  to  go  home  with 
you." 

Anne  took  the  leather  leash  and  hurried  to 
open  the  door  of  the  compartment  in  the  kennel 
yard  where  Cadence  sat  looking  wistfully  out. 
After  fastening  the  snap  in  the  collar  she  tried 
to  lead  her  out;  but  Cadence  flattened  herself  to 


Happy's  First  View  of  Waddles. 


ENTER   MRS.    WADDLES  23 

the  floor  in  an  agony  of  fear,  no  coaxing,  no  gentle 
calling  of  her  name  produced  the  least  effect,  she 
squatted  there  motionless  as  a  stone. 

Anne  crouched  upon  the  door-sill  quite  in 
despair,  then  she  saw  that  Cadence's  eyes  were 
fastened  upon  her  face,  so  she  smiled,  chirruped  to 
her,  and  tried  what  patting  her  back  and  smooth 
ing  her  long  ears  would  do. 

The  effect  was  magical ;  the  little  hound  stopped 
cowering,  looked  up,  gave  a  spring,  touching 
Anne's  finger-tips  with  her  tongue,  and  walked  off 
after  her  new  mistress  without  farther  objection. 

In  fact,  as  they  took  the  downhill  path  toward 
home,  Cadence  led  as  if  she  was  quite  well  aware 
where  she  was  going,  and  she  tugged  and  strained 
so  on  the  leash  when  she  came  in  sight  of  the 
house  as  to  make  Anne  fairly  trot. 

Then  for  the  first  time  Anne  thought  of  the 
objections  that  Waddles  might  make ;  for  though 
he  had  chummed  with  Lumberlegs  until  recently, 
their  relations  were  not  wholly  satisfactory,  and 
as  for  Lily  —  well,  he  never  interfered  with  her, 
but  then  also  he  never  asked  her  to  walk  with  him. 

As  it  chanced  Waddles  was  standing  in  the 
middle  of  the  walk  sniffing  the  air,  with  a  very 
sentimental  expression  on  his  mobile  face. 

Anne  slipped  the  leash,  as  it  does  not  lead  to 


24  DOGTOWN 

friendliness  when  strange  dogs  meet  to  have 
one  run  free  and  the  other  chained.  Before 
Waddles  fully  realized  what  had  happened,  before 
he  could  give  a  sniff  or  a  growl,  Cadence  evidently 
captivated  by  his  looks  had  bounded  up,  given 
him  the  coyest  lick  on  the  nose  and  sprung  back 
again,  her  tail  wagging  in  a  complete  circle  and 
an  unmistakable  smile  on  her  face. 

Thus  taken  by  surprise  Waddles  surrendered, 
and  by  way  of  making  the  newcomer  feel  at  home 
he  raised  his  head,  gave  a  bay,  and  then  putting 
his  nose  to  the  ground  found  the  trail  he  had  been 
trying  to  locate,  gave  a  short  bark  arid  started  off 
in  full  cry,  Cadence  following  and  yelping  madly. 

"  She  knows  how  to  pick  up  a  trail  if  she  is 
stupid,"  said  Anne  to  herself ;  "  but  I  wonder  if 
she  will  come  back  here  or  go  up  to  the  Kennels. 
I  think  I  will  just  go  in  and  explain  about  her 
to  mother  while  she  has  her  run." 

The  explanation  was  fortunately  satisfactory; 
but  then  Anne's  father  and  mother  seldom  ob 
jected  to  anything  unless  it  was  unkind,  danger 
ous,  or  too  expensive. 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  or  so  back  came  the 
pair,  evidently  the  best  of  friends,  Waddles  allow 
ing  Cadence  not  only  to  drink  from  his  dish,  but 
to  take  a  nicely  ripened  beef  bone  that  he  had 


ENTER  MRS.   WADDLES  25 

partly  buried  under  the  big  apple  tree.  This 
was  a  wonderful  bit  of  condescension,  as  it  is 
against  the  rules  of  Dogtown  to  dig  up  another's 
bone,  at  least  when  the  other  is  looking,  and  the 
offence  is  punishable  with  a  ki-yi-ing  and  a  real 
bite. 

"Mistress,"  said  Waddles,  behind  his  paw  as 
it  were,  "  that  is  a  very  beautiful  young  lady  ;  I  will 
gladly  share  my  bones  with  her,  and  that  is  some 
thing  that  I  have  never  done  before,"  which  was 
perfectly  true;  for  Waddles,  besides  being  very 
strict  about  food  etiquette,  thought  a  good  deal 
about  what  he  ate. 

The  next  morning  when  Anne  came  down 
stairs  Cadence  was  lying  on  the  steps  with  her 
back  to  the  house.  Anne  called  her  and  clapped 
her  hands  together,  but  she  did  not  stir,  yet  the 
moment  Anne's  footsteps  jarred  the  boards  Cadence 
turned  and  came  to  her  side. 

Then  the  truth  flashed  upon  Anne,  the  little 
hound  was  neither  stupid  nor  disobedient,  but 
almost  stone  deaf.  She  could  not  hear  the  voice, 
but  felt  the  sound  as  it  were  from  the  footstep. 

"There,  I  told  Miss  Jule  that  you  weren't 
wicked,  but  that  you  couldn't  understand  all  that 
shouting  and  to-heeling,  you  dear  little  abused 
thing.  Now  I'll  know  exactly  how  to  treat  you 


26  DOGTOWN 

and  what  to  expect."  And  Anne  held  the  pretty, 
soft  paws  in  one  hand  while  she  lifted  the  dog's 
face  so  that  it  might  see  what  she  said. 

Truly,  then,  Cadence  understood  once  and  for 
all,  and  when  puzzled  always  looked  in  her  mis 
tress's  face. 

When  Miss  Jule  heard  the  story,  she  questioned 
all  at  the  Horse  Farm  and  about  the  Kennels 
closely,  and  found  that  once,  when  Cadence  was  a 
pup  of  less  than  a  year,  a  gun  had  burst  quite 
close  to  her  head. 

"  Now,"  said  Anne,  triumphantly,  "  you  see  why 
she  was  gun  shy,  and  deaf,  and  everything.  You 
know,  Miss  Jule,  animals  are  hardly  ever  bad  ; 
it's  mostly  something  what  we've  done  ourselves, 
and  it's  being  a  kennel  dog,  too.  You  see  you  can 
never  be  really  intimate  with  them,  and  know 
their  troubles  as  I  do  Waddles." 

Miss  Jule  sighed,  for  she  knew  it  was  true. 


From  that  day  onward  Cadence  was  a  new  dog, 
no  longer  sad  eyed,  though  she  knew  mighty  well 
how  to  plead  for  what  she  wanted  with  those 
golden  brown  eyes,  but  the  most  joyous  thing 
alive. 

She  was  pleased  if  she  had  a  bone,  or  equally 


ENTER   MRS.    WADDLES  27 

pleased  with  a  dog  biscuit,  happy  to  go  to  walk, 
happy  to  stay  at  home ;  her  face  wore  a  perpetual 
smile,  and  her  tail  a  ceaseless  wag. 

"  Let  us  call  her  something  different  from  that 
old  kennel  name,  even  if  she  can't  hear  it,"  said 
Anne,  one  day  six  months  later,  as  they  stood 
watching  Cadence  tending  her  first  children,  the 
fascinating  twins,  Jack  and  Jill,  and  teaching 
them  to  lap  milk. 

"  Yes,"  assented  Tommy,  who  stood  by,  ponder 
ing  as  to  how  soon  the  pups  might  be  harnessed 
to  a  toy  cart ;  "  let's  call  her  Happy,  she  is  always 
so  glad."  And  Happy  it  is  —  Mrs.  Happy  Wad 
dles  of  Happy  Hall. 

"  Now  there's  something  else  between  us  be 
sides  not  understanding  things  when  we  are  shut 
up,"  said  Anne,  making  the  hound  stand  up  and 
put  both  paws  in  her  lap.  "  We  are  both  named 
one  thing  and  called  another ;  for  you  probably 
don't  know,  my  dear,  unless  Waddles  has  told  you, 
that  my  true  name  is  Diana,  after  the  hunting 
lady,  and  really  I  think  some  night  this  fall  I'll 
live  up  to  it  and  go  out  with  you  and  Waddles 
to  hunt  rabbits." 

So  this  is  the  annal  of  the  coming  of  Happy, 
wife  of  Waddles,  Mayor  of  Dogtown. 


CHAPTER   II 

MISS   LETTY   AND   HAMLET 

SPRING  always  brought  many  arrivals  at  Miss 
Jule's  farm,  so  that  Anne  and  Tommy  found  some 
new  animal  at  every  visit  :  either  an  awkward, 
frolicsome  colt,  a  fawn-eyed  Jersey  calf,  or  a  litter 
of  pups ;  for  Miss  Jule  was  so  successful  in  rear 
ing  healthy  animals  that  those  she  could  not  keep 
met  with  a  ready  sale  everywhere. 

The  children  went  up  nearly  every  afternoon 
in  fine  weather,  riding  their  bicycles  all  but  the 
steepest  part  of  the  way,  and  having  a  safe  and 
easy  coast  back,  for  the  road  was  broad,  smooth  as 
a  floor,  and  there  were  no  cross-roads  the  entire 
length  of  the  slope,  cross-roads  being  very  bad 
things  for  coasters  either  on  wheels  or  sleds. 

Anne,  however,  did  not  care  about  wheeling  as 
much  as  for  riding  horseback.  During  the  past 
two  years  Miss  Jule's  old  brown  horse  Fox,  though 
well  on  in  his  twenties,  had  been  a  safe  mount 
for  her,  as  well  as  an  intelligent  companion,  Of 

28 


MISS  LETTY  AND   HAMLET  29 

course  she  never  rode  very  fast,  and  was  always 
careful  to  walk  him  down  hills  ;  as  old  horses,  no 
matter  if  they  are  thoroughbreds,  sometimes  kneel 
at  the  wrong  time.  But  he  was  very  clever  at 
taking  narrow  paths  through  the  woods,  and 
keeping  clear  of  the  trees,  walking  up  the  little 
brook  which  was  one  of  Anne's  favourite  pas 
times,  without  pawing  the  water  and  soaking  her 
skirt. 

Anne's  father  had  a  beautiful  young  horse  Tom, 
which  he  both  rode  and  drove,  but  who  did  not 
like  side-saddles,  and  did  not  intend  wearing  one. 
So  one  day  when  Anne  had  ridden  him  up  through 
the  orchard  pasture  to  look  for  the  cows  that  had 
gone  astray,  he  first  tried  to  scrape  her  off  by 
squeezing  against  the  tree  trunk,  and  then,  when 
she  dismounted  to  see  if  the  saddle  or  girths  could 
possibly  gall  him,  he  took  a  roll  in  the  spring, 
saddle  and  all,  and  galloped  home,  leaving  Anne 
to  walk. 

So  Fox  remained  her  pet,  and  all  she  had  to  do 
to  make  him  come  when  she  wanted  a  ride  was  to 
go  to  the  pasture,  where  he  spent  his  days  luxuri 
ously  shod  with  rubber  tips,  or  to  the  barnyard, 
where  he  was  watered,  and  say  "  Fox  !  "  ever  so 
softly,  and  he  would  come  trotting  up,  to  be  either 
petted  or  saddled,  eager  to  nibble  the  bit  of  sugar, 


30 


DOGTOWN 


carrot,  or  bunch  of  clover  that  she  always  brought 
him,  putting  back  his  ears  meanwhile  in  pure  mis 
chief,  and  pretending  to  bite  her  fingers,  while  his 
nostrils  seemed 
to  quiver  with 
laughter  at  the 
joke. 

In  the  middle 
days  of  this  par 
ticular  spring, 
the  one  that 
came  before  the 
summer  when 
Waddles  and 
Lumberlegs 
had  their  great 
fight,  it  was  nei 
ther  Fox  nor 
the  new  calves 
that  drew  Anne 
so  often  to  the 
Hilltop  Farm, 
but  Miss  Letty  and  Hamlet :  Miss  Letty  being 
neither  calf,  colt,  nor  puppy,  but  a  very  pretty 
girl,  and  Hamlet  a  worldly-wise  French  poodle. 

Miss  Letty  was  the  orphan  niece  of  Miss  Jule, 
the  child  of  her  only  brother  who  had  lived  abroad 


MISS  LETTY  AND   HAMLET  31 

for  many  years,  married  a  French  lady,  and  died 
there.  Miss  Letty  had  been  sent  to  an  English 
and  then  a  French  school  by  another  aunt,  her 
mother's  sister  ;  now  as  her  father  had  willed  it, 
she  had  come  on  a  visit  to  America,  so  that  she 
might  see  his  country  and  choose  with  which  aunt 
she  preferred  to  make  her  home. 

When  Anne  heard  that  Miss  Jule's  niece  was 
coming  to  make  a  visit  half  a  year  long,  and  that 
she  had  a  pet  dog,  she  was  very  much  excited, 
for  Anne  was  beginning  to  long  for  a  companion 
of  her  own  age.  She  only  hoped  that  Waddles 
would  like  the  dog  visitor,  and  then  they  four 
could  take  lovely  excursions  together  afoot  and 
on  horseback,  that  is,  if  a  girl  from  a  French 
boarding-school  knew  how  to  manage  horses  ;  if 
she  didn't,  of  course  she  could  ride  Fox  until  she 
learned. 

Anne  did  not  know  exactly  how  old  Letty  was, 
though  of  course  Miss  Jule  did  ;  but  she  always 
thought  and  spoke  of  her  as  a  schoolgirl,  and 
told  Anne  that  it  would  be  a  fine  chance  to  im 
prove  her  French,  and  that  in  return  she  could 
teach  Letty  about  wood  things,  for  Letty  had 
been  brought  up  almost  altogether  in  the  city.  So 
Anne  wondered  whether  she  knew  enough  French 
to  make  Letty  understand,  and  went  about  talking 


32  DOGTOWN 

to  herself  and  all  the  animals  on  the  place  in  such 
words  as  she  knew,  much  to  the  confusion  and 
disgust  of  Waddles,  who  recognized  something 
familiar  in  the  invitation  to  oiler  d  la  poste,  yet 
did  not  quite  understand  it  as  the  usual  invitation 
to  "go  to  the  post-office." 

At  first  Tommy  had  not  been  interested.  "  If 
it  was  a  rather  big  boy  with  a  real  gun  that 
was  coming,  we  could  go  hunting  together  and 
have  some  fun  next  cold  weather  when  the  bunnies 
come  out.  Girls  aren't  much  good  excepting  Anne, 
and  even  she  don't  seem  to  care  for  guns  either," 
he  said. 

Tommy's  latest  treasure  was  a  spring  shot-gun 
that  went  off  with  an  alarming  pop,  but  for  which 
he  had  no  ammunition,  so  as  yet  he  went  about, 
cocking,  aiming,  and  firing  at  imaginary  big  game, 
—  real  squirrels  and  crows,  —  quite  content  to  see 
them  scurry  away  in  alarm  ;  at  the  same  time  being 
careful,  as  his  father  had  charged  him,  never  to 
point  it  at  people,  for  this  is  a  "  mustn't  be  "  of 
a  real  gun,  which  a  boy  must  learn  by  heart  before 
he  can  even  dream  of  owning  one. 

When  one  Saturday  morning  Martin,  who  lived 
at  the  Hilltop  Farm,  came  with  a  note  saying  that 
Miss  Letty  and  Hamlet  had  arrived,  and  that 
Miss  Jule  would  be  happy  to  have  Anne  and 


MISS   LETTY   AND   HAMLET  33 

Tommy  come  up  to  dinner,  Tommy  forgot  his 
poor  opinion  of  girls  in  general  and  was  as  eager 
as  Anne  herself. 

Miss  Jule  kept  to  the  country  habit  of  a  one 
o'clock  dinner,  and  had  a  hearty  but  movable  tea 
at  the  end  of  day,  when  for  six  months  of  the 
year  one  begrudges  spending  much  time  indoors. 
As  the  note  came  before  nine  o'clock,  it  was  too 
much  to  expect  that  the  children  should  wait 
until  nearly  dinner  time  before  accepting  the  invi 
tation. 

"  Of  course,"  said  Anne,  in  explanation  of  start 
ing  at  ten  o'clock,  "  at  most  places  it  doesn't  do 
to  go  until  a  few  minutes  before  you  are  asked, 
because  the  people  may  be  busy,  or  making  the 
dessert,  or  not  dressed  ;  but  Miss  Jule  is  always 
busy,  has  fruit  for  dessert,  and  is  never  dressed, 
so  she's  quite  as  ready  one  time  as  another,"  which 
somewhat  startling  statement  of  Anne's  did  not 
mean  that  Miss  Jule  was  a  clothesless  savage,  but 
simply  that,  without  the  useless  state  of  fuss  and 
feathers  known  as  "being  dressed,"  she  was 
always  ready  to  have  her  friends  come  and  take 
her  as  they  found  her,  which  was  usually  doing 
something  interesting. 

Waddles  had  an  extra  brushing  in  honour  of  go 
ing  out  to  dine,  for  he  also  had  several  friends  at 


34  DOGTOWN 

the  Hilltop  Kennels  with  whom  he  exchanged 
very  pleasant  calls.  In  fact,  they  belonged  to  his 
particular  hunting-club,  that  admitted  only  the 
most  discreet  citizens  of  Dogtown,  and  had  a  lim 
ited  membership. 

With  the  regular  kennel  dogs  Waddles  had 
only  a  sniffing  acquaintance,  which  is  the  same  as 
a  mere  bowing  acquaintance  among  house  people. 
But  besides  these  dogs  that  were  bought  and 
sold,  trained  for  hunting  and  sent  travelling  about 
to  shows  and  field  trials,  Miss  Jule  had  four  who 
were  pets  and  house  fourfoots,  even  though  two 
were  rather  large  for  this  purpose. 

These  were  Mr.  Wolf,  whose  registered  name 
was  Ben  Uncas,  a  long-coated  St.  Bernard,  with 
beautiful  silky  hair,  and  a  very  gentle  face  that 
belied  the  fact  that  he  was  a  mighty  hunter,  who 
seemed  to  have  a  little  wolf  blood  in  his  veins ; 
Quick,  the  most  agile  and  impertinent  of  fox  ter 
riers  ;  Tip,  a  retrieving  spaniel,  in  size  between  a 
field  and  a  cocker,  who  wore  a  coat  of  wavy  golden 
red  hair,  and  rivalled  even  Waddles  in  wisdom  ; 
and  Colin,  an  Irish  setter,  big  for  his  breed,  and 
as  clumsy  and  affectionate  as  a  well-bred  dog 
could  be. 

Colin  could  boast  a  Dogtown  record  almost  as 
free  from  fighting  as  Waddles,  but  for  a  different 


MISS   LETTY   AND    HAMLET  35 

reason.  He  was  handsome,  but  not  over  valiant, 
and  when  some  indiscretion  of  his  aroused  the  ire 
of  another  dog,  Colin  would  immediately  roll  over 
on  his  back  and  kick  his  four  legs  so  fast  that 
his  confused  opponent  could  get  no  grip  what 
ever,  and  usually  found  that  he  had  urgent  busi 
ness  on  the  other  side  of  the  street. 

Anne  and  Tommy  rode  up  the  long  hill  very 
slowly,  partly  because  it  was  rather  early,  and 
partly  because  they  had  on  fresh  wash  suits  for  the 
first  time  that  season,  and  wash  suits  look  best  be 
fore  they  are  withered.  At  least  Anne  thought 
of  this,  for  she  had  heard  that  Miss  Letty  had 
money  enough  to  buy  all  the  pretty  clothes  she 
wished,  and  likely  as  not  she  might  wear  muslin 
shirt  waists  and  lots  of  pretty  ribbons.  Though 
Anne  did  not  bother  much  about  her  dresses,  and 
had  not  worn  her  best  frock,  lest  she  might  wish 
to  play,  she  felt  more  comfortable  to  know  that 
her  cambric  gown  with  its  plain,  turnover  collar 
was  clean,  and  that  her  cherry-coloured  hair  rib 
bons  were  new  and  had  not  been  "retrieved"  by 
the  whole  Waddles  family  in  turn. 

"  I  know  it's  rather  early,"  said  Anne,  after 
greeting  Miss  Jule,  who  for  a  wonder  was  sitting 
in  idleness  amid  an  unusual  number  of  vases  that 
waited  for  flowers  on  the  side  porch  that  over- 


36  DOGTOWN 

looked  the  prim,  old-fashioned  garden  ;  "  but  I 
thought  we  could  see  the  new  setter  pups  if  Miss 
Letty  was  busy  or  tired  or  anything  ;  and  if  she 
wasn't,  we  could  play  hide-and-seek  with  her  and 
Mr.  Wolf  and  Waddles  up  in  the  corn-field. 
Some  of  the  last  year's  stacks  are  there  yet,  and 
we  can  creep  into  them  finely.  Her  dog  may  not 
know  how  to  play,  and  we  can  teach  him." 

Miss  Jule  gave  a  queer  little  short  laugh,  started 
to  say  something,  stopped  with  a  very  funny  ex 
pression  on  her  plain,  jolly  face,  and  said  : 
"  It's  not  at  all  too  early.  Letty  is  over  there  in 
the  garden  beyond  the  hedge,  getting  me  some 
flowers  for  these  big  jars.  You  can  introduce  your 
selves,  and  ask  her  to  play  hide-and-seek,  only 
I'm  afraid  that  Waddles  will  not  like  Hamlet. 
Tip  was  so  rude  that  I've  had  to  tie  him  up." 

Anne  called  Waddles,  who  was  talking  to  Mr. 
Wolf  in  his  day  retreat  under  the  steps,  and 
went  down  the  path  with  Tommy,  not  noticing 
that  Mr.  Wolf,  Quick,  and  Colin  were  following, 
or  that  Tip  joined  the  trio  as  soon  as  they  were 
past  the  lilac  hedge,  showing  by  his  collarless 
condition  that  he  had  broken  jail. 

As  the  children  looked  about  they  did  not  see 
any  little  girl.  Ah,  yes,  there  was  a  flutter  of 
white  the  other  side  of  the  bulb  beds,  so  they 


Miss  Letty. 


MISS   LETTY  AND    HAMLET  39 

turned  in  that  direction  to  find  a  young  lady 
standing  among  the  borders,  dressed  in  such 
dainty,  lovely,  flower-coloured  clothes  as  they  had 
never  seen  before,  at  least,  never  in  a  garden. 
One  slender  white  hand  hung  by  her  side,  while 
the  other  grasped  the  iris  stalks.  They  could  not 
see  her  face  because  of  the  lace  that  drooped  from 
her  hat,  but  her  hair  was  light  brown,  and  as 
fluffy  as  thistle-down. 

Could  this  be  the  little  girl  companion  that 
Anne  had  longed  for  ?  Her  heart  fell  in  disap 
pointment.  Yes,  it  must  be,  for  there  was  no 
one  else  in  the  garden. 

"  She  is  a  grown-up  young  lady,  with  gowns 
that  wiggle  on  the  ground,  and  all  our  fun  is 
spoilt,"  said  Anne,  softly,  checking  Tommy  who 
was  about  to  call  out. 

Tommy,  however,  was  not  so  sure  that  he  was 
disappointed ;  the  pretty  girl  attracted  him,  and 
he  walked  directly  toward  her.  At  that  moment 
Waddles,  catching  sight  of  a  strange-looking  dog, 
partly  hidden  in  the  grass,  gave  a  bark,  and  the 
face  under  the  broad  hat  turned,  toward  them, 
opened  its  mouth  and  spoke,  setting  their  doubts 
as  to  its  being  Miss  Letty  at  rest. 

"  This  is  Anne  I  know,"  said  a  delightful,  laugh 
ing  voice,  that  spoke  every  word  distinctly,  with 


40  DOGTOWN 

hardly  a  bit  of  accent,  and  yet  had  an  intimate 
sound,  "and  Tommy,  too.  Ah,  yes,  I  know  you 
very  well,  and  if  you'd  not  come  to  see  me  this 
morning,  I  should  have  called  upon  you  this  after 
noon.  I  suppose  that  dear  dog  with  the  long 
ears  is  Waddles,  come  to  be  introduced  to  Ham 
let,"  and  she  raised  an  odd  silver  whistle  that  hung 
from  her  belt  by  a  chain  and  gave  two  short  calls. 

"  Yes,  we  came  as  soon  after  Miss  Jule  sent  the 
note  as  we  could,"  said  Tommy,  collecting  himself 
more  quickly  than  Anne,  "  though  mother  said 
dinner  at  one  meant  not  to  start  before  half-past 
twelve.  But  we  didn't  know  that  you  were  so 
old  or  could  talk  our  way,  and  Anne  thought  she 
must  speak  French,  and  she's  been  muttering  all 
the  way  up,  though  Waddles  and  I  didn't  like  it, 
for  we  think  American  is  good  enough  for  any 
body.  Besides,  Anne  said  perhaps  you'd  like  to 
play  hide-and-seek  up  in  the  corn-field.  You  see, 
we  didn't  know  you  were  a  kind  of  flower  fairy." 

Then  Miss  Letty's  eyes  met  Anne's,  and  they 
both  burst  into  a  merry  laugh  that  made  them 
fast  friends,  while  she  shook  hands  heartily  with 
Tommy  instead  of  kissing  his  little  pug  nose  as 
she  wished,  which  would  have  offended  him  as 
being  babyish. 

"  Certainly,  I  will  play  hide-and-seek  if  you  will 


MISS  LETTY  AND   HAMLET  41 

tell  me  precisely  what  you  expected  to  find  me, 
Miss  Anne.  I  think  that  you  look  disappointed." 

"  I'm  not  Miss,  I'm  only  plain  Anne,  who  used 
to  be  Tommy- Anne  until  six  years  ago,  when 
Tommy  came ;  at  least  I'm  called  Anne,  because  I 
don't  like  my  real  name,  Diana.  You  know  so 
few  people  say  it  nicely,  and  Obi  calls  it  Dinah, 
the  same  as  the  fat  coloured  woman's  name  who 
lives  up  the  road  and  launders  our  very  best 
things." 

"Is  your  name  really  Diana?  "  cried  Miss  Letty, 
clapping  her  hands  in  delight.  "  It  is  the  name 
of  one  of  my  dearest  friends  at  school,  whom  I 
miss  dreadfully,  and  who  had  dark  hair  and  eyes 
like  yours.  I  will  call  your  name  smoothly  like 
this,  Diane,  the  French  way,  for  it  is  a  pleasure  to 
me,  and  then  perhaps  you  will  grow  to  like  it ;  for 
a  girl  who  loves  horses  and  dogs  could  not  be 
named  better." 

"  Yes,  Miss  Letty,  I  think  I  do  like  it  already,  and 
I  might  as  well  tell  you  that  I  thought  you  would 
be  a  girl  like  me,  so  that  we  could  tramp  about 
and  do  things  together,  and  take  pictures  when  I 
get  my  new  camera,  and  I  did  think  you  might  like 
to  play  hide-and-seek  this  morning  with  our  dogs, 
and  teach  yours  how,  but  of  course  — 

"  Of  course  I  shall  be  charmed  to  play  hide-and- 


42  DOGTOWN 

seek,  and  be  your  companion,  even  if  I  am  very 
old,  —  quite  eighteen.  Come,  we  will  begin  now 
as  soon  as  I  take  these  flowers  to  my  aunt,"  and 
she  gathered  the  iris  into  the  skirt  of  her  dainty 
gown  upon  which  tiny  violets  formed  stripes  that 
matched  the  iris  in  colour. 

"  /  shall  call  you  '  flower  lady,' "  said  Tommy, 
decidedly,  with  a  sturdy  expression  of  face  that 
quite  settled  the  matter  as  far  as  he  was  con 
cerned. 

"  Now  I'm  ready,  but  where  is  Hamlet  ?  "  said 
Letty,  after  she  had  given  Miss  Jule  the  flowers. 
"Ah,  here  he  comes,  and  a  chance  also  to  try  your 
French,  Diane,  for  the  only  English  word  he 
knows  is  his  name.  Now  for  hide-and-seek." 

"  But  surely  you  aren't  going  to  wear  your  best 
gown  and  slippers  to  play  hide-and-seek  in  the 
corn-field  and  woods  for  there  are  lots  of  old  briers 
and  prickly  things,"  expostulated  Anne,  glancing 
at  Miss  Jule ;  but  as  the  latter  went  on  arranging 
her  flowers  and  said  nothing,  Anne  feared  she  had 
been  rude. 

"  This  isn't  a  best  gown,  only  a  muslin  —  see,  I 
can  hold  it  up  so,"  and  Miss  Letty  threw  the 
trailing  skirt  over  her  arm,  showing  an  underskirt 
so  frail  that  plainly  clad  Anne  nearly  gasped  in 
spite  of  herself.  "  And  I  never  wear  thick  shoes ; 


MISS  LETTY  AND  HAMLET 


43 


in   fact,   I   haven't   any,    though   they  might  be 
useful  here." 

Then  she  turned  and  began  chatting  gayly  in 
French  to  Hamlet  who  came  down  the  path,  look 
ing  somewhat  anxiously  behind  him.  As  a  dog 
of  his  breed  Hamlet  was  doubtless  quite  perfect ; 
but  to  Anne,  accustomed  to  the  rough-and-ready 

citizens  of  Dogtown, 

to  whom  a  bath  and 
a  brushing  was  full 
dress,  his  costume  was 
rather  startling.  His 
long  hair,  which  on 
his  crown  and  shoul 
ders  hung  in  stringy 
curls  like  a  mop,  was 
shaved  close  on  the 
lower  part  of  his 
body,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  a  tuft  on  each 
hip  and  bands  around 
his  ankles.  His  clean 
shaven  face  was  dec 
orated  by  a  long 
mustache,  he  wore  a 
silver  bangle  collar 
run  with  blue  ribbon 


44 

that  hardly  showed  amid  his  curls,  and  a  bracelet 
on  one  ankle.  At  a  signal  from  his  mistress  he 
sprang  upon  a  low  wicker  stand  that  served  as  a 
porch  tea  table,  sat  erect,  and  saluted. 

Tommy  was  delighted,  of  course,  and  Miss  Letty 
made  him  do  all  his  tricks,  of  which  he  knew  as 
many  as  a  circus  dog.  He  waltzed,  he  said  his 
prayers,  he  fetched  a  handkerchief  from  Miss 
Letty's  room,  although  he  had  only  been  in  the 
house  two  days,  and  so  on,  ending  by  turning 
three  somersaults  and  barking  like  mad  when 
Miss  Letty  waved  her  handkerchief  and  cried, 
"  Vive  la  Republique  !  " 

"  What  do  you  think  of  Hamlet  ?  "  asked  Miss 
Letty,  throwing  herself  into  a  hammock  to  get 
her  breath.  "  Can  Waddles  do  as  many  tricks  ?  " 
she  added,  rather  piqued  that  Anne  was  not  more 
enthusiastic,  "  and  does  he  always  mind  when  you 
speak  to  him  ?  " 

"  I  think  Hamlet  is  very  clever.  No,  Waddles 
does  not  do  tricks  ;  but  he  knows  a  great  deal,  and 
a  great  many  things  that  take  a  great  deal  of 
thinking  out.  For  one  thing,  he  knows  how  to 
take  care  of  himself,  though  I  can't  say  that  he 
always  minds  so  very  well ;  but  I  am  sure  that 
he  is  a  more  durable  country  dog  than  Hamlet." 

"  Minding    is    everything,"    said    Miss    Letty, 


MISS   LETTY  AND   HAMLET  45 

decidedly  ;  "  Hamlet  obeys  every  word  I  say,  and 
so  he  never  really  has  to  think  for  himself.  Sh  ! 
Tais-toi !  "  she  cried,  clapping  her  hands,  for  Ham 
let  having  once  started  to  bark  in  honour  of  the 
French  Republic  had  no  mind  to  stop ;  and  as 
every  one  knows,  who  has  either  owned  or  lived 
next  door,  to  one,  a  poodle  has  a  voice  of  such 
piercing  and  incessant  shrillness  that  even  a  fence 
cat  on  a  moonlight  night  cannot  compete  with  it. 

Hamlet  would  not  listen,  and  kept  on  tear 
ing  round  the  house  and  barking,  until  not  only 
all  the  dogs  in  the  kennels  were  set  agog,  but  the 
signal  travelled  over  Dogtown  and  answering 
barks  could  be  heard  for  a  mile  away,  while  Miss 
Jule  put  her  fingers  in  her  ears  and  Anne  burst 
out  laughing  in  spite  of  herself. 

"  He's  a  little  upset,"  said  his  mistress  when  he 
was  finally  quiet;  uhe  is  not  used  to  so  much 
space,  and  it's  gone  to  his  head."  —  "Come,"  she 
called,  speaking  French  rapidly,  "sit  up  and 
smoke  your  pipe  to  calm  yourself,  and  read  the 
paper." 

Hamlet  meekly  mounted  the  stand  again,  while 
his  mistress  produced  a  short  clay  pipe  from  her 
work-bag  that  hung  by  the  hammock  and  stuck  it 
in  his  mouth,  perched  Miss  Jule's  eyeglasses  upon 
his  nose,  and  held  the  morning  paper  before  him. 


46 


DOGTOWN 


"  No,  do  not  look  at  me  —  read  !  "  she  said,  as 
his  eyes  rolled  about  in  a  helpless  sort  of  fashion, 
"read  until  I  stop  counting." 

"  Now,"  she  said,  when  the  lesson  was  over,  "  we 
will  all  go  and  play  hide-and-seek.  Do  you  know 

the  French 
for  that, 
Anne  ?  No  ? 
Well,  it  is 
cdcTie-cdclie. 
Come,Tom- 
my,  I  will 
race  you  to 
the  wall;" 
tossing  her 
skirt  once 
more  over 
her  arm, 
Miss  Let- 
ty  whirled 
away,  — 
muslin,  lace, 
openwork 
stockings, 
high-heeled 
.dippers, 
and  all, — • 


MISS  LETTY  AND   HAMLET  47 

Anne  and  Tommy  padding  along  after  in  their 
broad-soled  shoes. 

Miss  Jule  stopped  laughing  and  sighed,  saying 
to  herself :  "  She  is  sunny  tempered  and  bright, 
but  she  has  more  need  to  learn  American  of  Anne 
than  Anne  has  to  learn  French.  I  was  afraid 
this  morning  that  the  farm  was  too  dull  a  place 
for  such  a  dainty  lady,  but  I  believe  this  visit 
will  be  the  making  of  her.  If  only  something 
would  happen  to  the  poodle.  He  gets  on  my 
nerves,  though  I  can't  tell  why,  and  I'd  quite 
forgotten  that  I  had  any."  This  was  a  strange 
opinion  to  come  from  Miss  Jule,  who  was  the 
friend  of  every  little  cur  in  Dogtown,  and  had 
been  known  to  pay  the  license  for  more  than  one 
poor  body  in  danger  of  losing  a  seemingly  worth 
less  pet. 


Once  in  the  corn-field  the  difference  in  age  be 
tween  Anne  and  Miss  Letty  melted  as  if  by  magic, 
and  they  chatted  away  as  merrily  as  if  they  had 
been  life-long  friends.  Anne,  looking  up  to  the 
older  girl  as  a  beautiful  and  superior  being,  was 
further  enthralled  by  finding  that  she  knew  a 
great  deal  about  the  pictures  that  she  herself  loved, 
and  had  actually  once  seen  Rosa  Bonheur,  who 


48  DOGTOWN 

painted  the  wonderful  "  Horse  Fair,"  a  coloured 
print  of  which  was  Anne's  chief  treasure,  and  had 
really  stood  beside  her  once  when  she  was  paint 
ing  a  great  white  bull. 

To  Miss  Letty,  on  the  other  hand,  who  had 
never  before  thought  that  the  country  was  any 
thing  more  than  a  place  full  of  trees  and  grass 
that  was  very  dull  to  stay  in  for  more  than  a 
week,  and  a  dreadful  place  to  spoil  one's  com 
plexion,  Anne's  friendship  with  wild  things  seemed 
like  a  living  fairy  tale,  and  Anne  herself  a  veri 
table  brownie. 


Waddles,  Mr.  Wolf,  Quick,  Colin,  and  Tip 
played  hide-and-seek  beautifully;  but  Miss  Letty 
would  not  let  Hamlet  join  in  the  game,  because 
she  said  that  his  hair  was  too  long  and  needed 
clipping,  and  might  get  full  of  straws;  then  his 
feet  were  delicate,  and  the  stubble  might  cut  them, 
or  the  briers  tear  his  ears  or  pull  off  his  bracelet. 
Then,  too,  his  hair  had  been  freshly  oiled  to  keep 
it  black,  after  the  manner  of  poodles,  and  it  would 
be  fatal  to  its  lustre  if  dirt  got  upon  it. 

So  poor  Hamlet  had  to  suffer  the  shame  of  be 
ing  tied  to  a  small  tree,  in  full  sight  of  the  other 
dogs,  by  one  of  his  mistress's  violet  ribbons.  He 


MISS  LETTY   AND   HAMLET  49 

was  at  heart  a  manly,  brave  dog,  and  in  no  way 
responsible  for  the  caprice  that  makes  so  many  of 
his  tribe  play  the  fool.  Also  the  other  dogs 
seemed  to  have  a  contempt  for  his  forlorn  and 
ladylike  state,  and  Anne  distinctly  saw  Tip  kick 
dirt  at  him  in  passing,  and  dignified  Waddles 
nipped  his  hind  leg. 

As  it  drew  near  noon  the  trio  wandered  toward 
the  wooded  edge  of  the  field,  where  Anne  said 
they  would  be  sure  to  find  yellow  violets,  wind 
flowers,  and  spring  beauties,  and  Miss  Letty 
filled  her  hat  with  them  to  take  home  to  paint, 
and  then  sat  down  to  rest  with  Tommy  at  her 
feet,  while  Anne  went  farther  into  the  wood  to 
look  for  wild  sarsaparilla. 

"  I'm  going  to  have  you  for  my  sweetheart," 
said  Tommy,  suddenly,  as  he  stepped  back  with  his 
hands  behind  him,  contentedly  surveying  a  rickety- 
looking  wreath  of  dogwood  blossoms  that  he  bad 
put  upon  Miss  Letty 's  golden  hair,  but  which 
would  slip  down  over  her  eyes.  "  I  think  that 
you  are  much  nicer  than  Pinkie  Scott  and  Bess 
and  Grace." 

"  And  who  are  they,  pray  ?  "  said  Miss  Letty, 
peering  through  the  wreath. 

"  Oh,  they  are  the  others  I  play  with,  little  girls 
—  all  alike,  but  you  are  several  kinds." 


50  DOGTOWN 

"  You  mustn't  say,  4  I'm  going  to  have  you,'  in 
such  a  way,"  said  Miss  Letty,  struggling  to  be 
serious;  "you  must  go  down  on  your  knees  in 
the  dirt  and  ask  me  very  politely." 

"  No,"  said  Tommy,  sturdily,  "  I  won't.  I  don't 
mind  the  dirt ;  but  if  you  ask,  people  mostly  say 
you  mustn't ;  but  if  you  say  you're  going  to,  you 
oftener  get  it." 

Miss  Letty  looked  up  quite  surprised  at  his 
reasoning  and  said:  "Very  well,  play  I'm  your 
sweetheart.  What  next  ?  " 

"  Why,  then  I  must  bring  you  up  a  present 
every  Sunday  just  like  Baldy  does  to  Miss  Jule's 
Anna  Maria.  But,  Miss  Letty,  how  long  will  you 
be  my  sweetheart  ?  For  ever  and  ever  ?  " 

"  That's  too  long  to  promise,  Tommy.  How  will 
until  you  want  to  give  me  to  some  one  else  do  ?  " 

"  First  rate ;  just  listen  !  those  dogs  must  have 
struck  a  good  trail  down  below  there  ;  hear  them 
yell.  I  guess  I'll  go  and  see,"  and  he  quickly 
disappeared  around  the  hill. 

"I  can  now  untie  Hamlet,"  called  Miss  Letty 
to  Anne,  going  to  the  tree  where  she  had  left 
him ;  but  Hamlet  was  not  there,  neither  was  the 
sash  ribbon. 

Miss  Letty  whistled  and  called  in  vain,  for  the 
barking  and  yelping  sounded  farther  and  farther 


MISS   LETTY   AND   HAMLET  51 

away  on  the  other  side  of  the  wood,  and  when 
she  tried  to  follow  its  direction,  sharp  twigs  and 
briers  tore  her  lacy  frills,  and  her  high  heels 
caught  in  the  tangled  roots,  until  Anne  coming 
up  grasped  her  arm  just  in  time  to  prevent  her 
from  falling  into  an  old  spring  hole. 

"  There  is  no  use  in  trying  to  follow  the  dogs," 
said  Anne,  taking  in  the  situation  at  a  glance; 
"they  are  across  the  river  halfway  over  to  Pine 
Ridge  by  this  time.  I  think  we  had  better  go 
back  to  Miss  Jule's,  for  you  look  ever  so  warm, 
and  you  are  all  scratched  and  tattered." 

"  But  Hamlet,  I  must  find  him ;  he  will  be  lost 
and  never  find  his  way  back,  for  he  does  not 
know  the  place  at  all.  Besides,  it  does  not  agree 
with  him  to  run,  and  he  may  get  himself  muddy." 

"  Of  course  he  will  be  muddy  and  very  likely 
tired,  but  he  will  be  sure  to  come  back  with  the 
others.  I  think  they  have  taken  him  to  show 
him  the  way  about  and  introduce  him  to  their 
friends.  They  are  way  up  at  Squire  Hurley's 
now.  I  hear  his  foxhounds  baying,"  she  added, 
after  listening  intently  for  a  moment ;  for  her 
keen  ears  know  the  tones  and  distinguished  be 
tween  the  various  Dogtown  voices  as  readily  as 
if  they  belonged  to  human  friends. 


52  DOGTOWN 

Miss  Letty  looked  ruefully  at  the  shreds  hang 
ing  from  her  pretty  frock  and  then  gave  a  little 
scream  as  she  stretched  out  one  foot  and  saw  her 
stocking.  "  Look,  Anne  !  there  are  bugs  all  going 
through  the  openwork  and  biting  me." 

"  They  are  not  bugs  "  laughed  Anne,  kneeling 
to  pick  them  off  ;  "  but  about  half  a  dozen  kinds 
of  last  year's  4  stick  tights '  and  hook-on  seeds ; 
they  want  your  stocking  to  carry  them  off  and 
plant  them  somewhere  else.  Please,  Miss  Letty, 
do  girls  in  French  schools  wear  dancing  slippers 
and  party  gowns  in  the  woods  ?  " 

"  Schoolgirls  never  do...  We  always  wore  black 
frocks,  white  collars  and  cuffs,  and  pinafores,  quite 
like  housemaids,  and  very  seldom  went  out  of  the 
big  brick-walled  garden  except  at  vacation  time. 
Then  I  travelled  about  with  tante  Marie  and  my 
uncle,  who  always  wished  me  to  have  pretty 
clothes,  and  her  maid  repaired  them.  And  when 
I  was  coming  here  tante  Marie  said  all  girls  in 
America  dressed  like  princesses,  yes,  even  the  chil 
dren,  and  she  bought  me  almost  the  trousseau  of 
a  bride,  for  I  love  frou-frous ;  the  heavy  English 
clothes  my  father  used  to  bay  quite  choked  me. 
I  fear  me  I  can  never  wear  shoes  even  like 
yours,  Diane,  and  my  Aunt  Julie's  —  positively, 
the  soles  are  like  a  ship's  deck." 


MISS  LETTY  AND   HAMLET  53 

"It  is  of  no  use  telling  her,  she  will  have  to 
find  out  for  herself,"  thought  Anne  ;  then  looking 
across  the  field  toward  the  house,  she  exclaimed, 
"  Why,  there  is  Mr.  Hugh,  and  he  has  a  new 
horse." 

"  Who,  pray,  is  Mr.  Hugh  ? "  said  Miss  Letty, 
struggling  over  or  rather  through  her  last  fence, 
and  leaving  several  yards  of  petticoat  frill  behind. 
"Whoever  he  may  be  he  rides  well." 

"Mr.  Hugh?"  hesitated  Anne,  scarcely  realiz 
ing  that  he  should  be  unknown  to  any  one.  "  Why, 
Mr.  Hugh  is  a  very  nice  man,  but  quite  old,  al 
most  thirty.  He  owns  all  the  land  between  Miss 
Jule's  and  Squire  Burley's ;  he's  big  and  dark 
brown,  that  is,  his  hair  and  eyes  and  mustache  are, 
and  mostly  his  clothes  and  gaiters  ;  and  he  grows 
dogs  and  horses  too,  and  writes  books  about  the 
things  that  smell  queer  and  poison  you  —  chemis 
try,  you  know.  He  has  a  stone  house  that's  as 
strong  as  a  castle,  and  all  the  furniture  is  plain 
and  the  chairs  are  leather,  for  he  hates  all  kinds 
of  rags  hanging  to  chairs  and  things  like  that. 
He  likes  pictures  and  flowers,  though,  and  he 
gave  me  my  "Horse  Fair"  print  last  birthday. 
He  has  strawberries  in  his  cold-frame  that  are 
nearly  ripe,  I  saw  them  last  week.  I  do  believe 
he  is  bringing  some  to  Miss  Jule  now,  for  he  has  a 


54  DOGTOWN 

basket.  Mr.  Hugh  doesn't  like  young  ladies,  but 
only  children  and  people  like  mother  and  Miss 
Jule.  But  he  will  be  very  polite,  so  you  needn't 
be  afraid  of  him,"  she  added,  as  she  saw  Miss 
Letty  hesitate  and  look  as  if  she  was  going  to  run 
away. 

As  Anne  said,  Mr.  Hugh  had  brought  a  basket 
of  delicious  strawberries,  which  Miss  Jule  handed 

over  to  Letty  and  Anne 
to  arrange  for  the  table, 
saying,  "  They  are  so 
big  you  must  leave  the 
hulls  on  and  lay  them 
on  fresh  leaves." 

"  I  will  do  it,"  said 
Miss  Letty,  giving 
Anne  a  little  push  tow 
ard  the  door.  "  I  know 
that  you  are  longing  to 
see  the  new  horse." 

This  was  true,  and  Anne  finally,  after  some  diffi 
culty,  persuaded  Mr.  Hugh  to  accept  Miss  Jule's 
invitation  to  luncheon,  pleading  to  try  the  new 
horse  over  the  little  hedge  afterward,  as  Mr.  Hugh 
said  he  was  broken  to  side-saddle,  and  a  fine 
jumper. 

The   luncheon   table   looked  very  pretty  with 


MISS  LETTY  AND   HAMLET  55 

Letty's  flower  decorations  and  little  vines  laid  on 
the  cloth,  and  all  went  well,  Mr.  Hugh  being  less 
shy  than  usual.  When  the  straAvberries  came, 
they  certainly  looked  very  tempting,  lying  on  a 
bed  of  leaves,  on  green  glass  plates,  with  a  mound 
of  sugar  on  the  side  of  each  to  dip  them  in. 

Miss  Jule,  who  was  near-sighted,  began  eating 
hers,  and  Mr.  Hugh  followed  in  an  absent-minded 
sort  of  way,  for  he  was  talking  pasture  and  other 
interesting  things  to  his  hostess. 

Suddenly  Anne  gave  a  loud  exclamation  and 
then  stopped,  flushing  scarlet  in  embarrassment. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Hugh,  "  a  bee  in  the 
berries  ?  " 

"  No  ;  but  —  but  —  the  green  leaves  under  the 
berries  are  poison  ivy,  and  you  know  you  poison 
dreadfully  and  so  does  Miss  Jule.  Oh,  and  the 
vines  around  the  table  edge  are  poison  too.  I 
didn't  notice  at  first,  the  leaves  are  so  small  and 
young." 

"  Bless  me  !  "  cried  Miss  Jule,  rubbing  her  lips 
and  finger-tips  with  her  handkerchief.  "  Run  up 
to  my  medicine  closet,  Anne,  and  bring  the  bottle 
labelled  >  Lead  water  and  alcohol,'  and  a  wad  of 
cotton.  Letty,  child,  you  will  be  sure  to  be 
poisoned  with  all  those  brier  scratches  on  your 
wrists." 


56  DOGTOWN 

"I  saw  the  pretty,  shining  vine  growing  up 
those  trees  and  over  the  stone  fence  by  the  stables 
and  I  thought  it  was  American  ivy,"  stammered 
Miss  Letty,  looking  ready  to  cry.  "  How  can  it 
poison  us,  Aunt  Julie?  we  haven't  eaten  any." 

"It's  the  juice  bites  your  skin,"  interrupted 
Tommy,  promptly,  "and  then  it  all  blubbers  up 
and  gets  wet  and  sticky,  and  you  scratch  and 
scratch,  but  it  doesn't  do  any  good." 

After  Anne,  whom  poison  ivy  never  harmed, 
had  brought  the  antidote,  and  fingers  and  lips 
were  bathed,  they  went  out  under  the  trees,  for  no 
one  cared  for  the  berries  except  Tommy,  who 
crept  into  the  kitchen  and  washed  his  vigorously 
with  soap  and  water,  and  devoured  them  with 
relish. 

"  Miss  Letty  is  my  pretty  sweetheart ;  don't  you 
wish  she  was  yours  ?  "  said  Tommy  to  Mr.  Hugh 
very  abruptly,  as  he  was  being  swung  into  the 
wonderful  Mexican  saddle  to  try  the  new  horse 
around  the  lawn. 

"  No,  I  don't,  Tommy  ;  pretty  people  are  all  very 
well,  but  useful  ones  with  common  sense  are 
better,"  was  the  answer. 

Miss  Letty,  coming  down  the  steps  as  the 
pair  passed  by,  heard  and  said  to  Anne,  who  was 
behind  her:  "I  hate  your  Mr.  Hugh.  I  think 


MISS   LETTY  AND   HAMLET  57 

he  is  a  bear,"  which  remark  coming  out  of  a  seem 
ing  clear  sky,  Anne  could  not  understand. 

A  diversion,  however,  was  caused  by  the  return 
of  the  dogs  with  much  barking  and  orders  of 
"down"  and  uto  heel,"  for  they  were  wet, 
muddy,  and  did  not  smell  like  roses. 

Mr.  Wolf  bore  a  muskrat,  and  Colin  brought 
up  the  rear  with  something  that  had  once  been  a 
shoe,  which  he  laid  at  Miss  Jule's  feet,  with  much 
tail-wagging,  as  if  to  say,  "  It's  merely  a  trifle, 
but  better  than  nothing." 

"  Hamlet  —  is  —  not  —  with  —  them,"  said  Miss 
Letty,  slowly,  with  almost  a  sob  in  her  voice. 

"  We  will  all  walk  up  the  river  bank  and  look 
for  him,"  said  Miss  Jule,  cheerfully ;  "  the  dogs 
came  back  that  way." 

They  had  only  gone  a  couple  of  hundred  feet 
up  the  stream  when  Anne,  who  was  ahead,  called, 
"  There  he  is,  sitting  on  that  rock ;  he  must  be 
tired  and  afraid  to  swim  over  alone." 

Then,  as  they  drew  nearer,  the  reason  for  his 
sitting  still  was  plain.  His  heavy  curls  were  a 
mat  of  mud,  burrs,  and  briers  that  must  have 
made  either  walking  or  swimming  nearly  impos 
sible,  while  the  tangle  over  his  eyes  was  so  dense 
that  he  could  see  nothing.  His  collar  was  gone, 
also  his  bracelet,  and  his  fluffy  wristlets  hung  limp. 


58 


DOGTOWN 


At  a  call  from  his  mistress,  however,  he  half 
stumbled,  half  plunged  into  the  shallow  stream 
and  threw  himself  into  her  lap,  and  she  hugged 
him,  thus  completing  the  wreck  of  her  gown,  say 
ing,  "  You  poor,  poor  boy !  we  are  a  pair,  you  and 
I,  because  of  our  clothes,  and  not  knowing  the 
country." 

****** 

It  was  impossible  to  comb  or  pick  the  straws 
and  burrs  from  Hamlet's  coat,  so  next  day  one  of 


MISS   LETTY   AND    HAMLET  59 

the  grooms  clipped  him  close  all  over  and  gave 
him  a  bath.  When  he  went,  meek  and  shivering 
with  mortification,  to  his  mistress's  room,  where 
she  was  sitting  alone,  as  the  poisoning  was  do 
ing  its  work  on  the  scratched  wrists  and  shell- 
pink  ears,  she  hardly  recognized  her  pet  in  the 
lanky  black  dog  with  only  a  tail-tuft  left  of  his 
curls.  As  she  did  not  speak,  he  went  over  to  a 
low  stool,  and  putting  his  nose  between  his  paws, 
"  said  his  prayers,"  as  she  had  often  made  him  do 
for  punishment  when  he  had  disobeyed. 

Then,  in  spite  of  her  misery,  she  burst  into  a 
hearty  laugh,  and  bade  him  go  out  and  play  with 
the  other  dogs,  which  he  very  readily  did,  feeling, 
if  antics  tell  anything,  like  a  little  boy  who  has 
just  put  off  petticoats.  After  his  clipping  Hamlet 
was  cordially  received  in  Dogtown,  and  consid 
ered  one  of  the  boys,  and  whether  or  not  his  hair 
was  allowed  to  grow  or  if  he  ever  again  wore  a 
scented  mustache,  remains  to  be  seen. 


CHAPTER   III 

TROUBLE   BEGINS 

DURING  all  these  days  Lumberlegs,  the  St.  Ber 
nard,  grew  mightily.  When  he  was  a  year  old, 
he  looked  like  an  awkward  young  calf  ;  but  when 
his  second  year  was  ended,  he  had  the  tawny  head 
of  a  lioness,  and  his  body,  well  rounded  yet 
muscular,  was  in  keeping  with  his  huge  paws. 

When  he  sat  and  Tommy  stood,  their  heads 
were  on  a  level,  and  when  they  walked  abroad 
together,  Tommy  tugging  sturdily  at  his  collar 
to  keep  pace,  they  usually  had  the  roadway  to 
themselves,  for  Lumberlegs  was  not  only  the  larg 
est  inhabitant  of  Dogtown,  but  of  the  whole 
county,  and  people  made  so  many  remarks  about 
his  size  that  Tommy  dubbed  him  Bigness. 

These  same  people  predicted  that  some  day 
there  would  be  a  dog  fight  at  Happy  Hall  when 
Lumberlegs  came  to  realize  his  strength,  and  the 
feeling  of  jealousy  that  comes  to  a  dog  with  full 
growth.  Surely  there  was  material  for  both  jeal- 

60 


Lumberlegs  and  Tommy. 


TROUBLE  BEGINS  63 

ousy  and  a  fight.  Waddles  loved  Anne  with  the 
sort  of  love  that  thinks  it  owns  the  object  of  its 
devotion  ;  Lumbeiiegs  loved  both  Tommy  and 
Anne  in  the  same  way ;  while  Lily,  the  bulldog, 
was  devoted  to  Tommy  alone,  and  deeply  resented 
the  coming  of  Happy,  who  loved  every  one,  as  an 
infringement  of  her  rights ;  so  that  at  the  time 
Happy  became  the  mother  of  Jack  and  Jill,  and 
consequently  an  object  of  much  attention,  there 
was  a  considerable  strain  upon  dog  tempers. 

At  this  point  fate  wisely  stepped  in  as  she  often 
does,  though  tears  came  with  her.  Lily  broke  one 
of  the  most  rigid  of  dog  laws,  the  penalty  for 
which  is  death  —  she  defied  an  express  train  !  In 
going  with  Tommy  and  Anne  to  the  town  she  did 
not  follow  the  road  and  cross  the  railway  bridge 
with  high  safe  sides,  but  lingered  by  the  way, 
sniffing  here  and  then  there  until  she  lost  sight  of 
her  friends,  and  took  a  short  cut  across  the  fields 
that  bordered  the  tracks,  running  between  the 
rails  until  she  should  reach  a  gap  in  the  guard 
fence  that  opened  on  the  road  the  other  side. 

It  was  time  for  the  morning  express,  the  par 
ticular  train  that  always  whistles  as  it  turns  the 
curve,  and  thrusts  out  an  iron  arm  to  grab  the 
mail  bag,  swinging  from  its  gallows,  while  it  drops 
another  bag  into  a  rack  beneath. 


64 


DOGTOWN 


It  was  always  a  puzzle  to  Tommy  as  to  how  the 
bag  was  seized  without  missing,  and  he  often 
coaxed  Anne  to  wait  on  the  bridge  until  the  train 
came,  as  there  were  little  star-shaped  openings  in 
the  iron  work  through  which  he  could  see. 

This  morning  they  had  crossed,  and  then  hear 
ing  the  train  turned  back.  Anne  missing  Lily 
looked  up  the  hill  for  her,  while  Waddles,  who,  as 
a  matter  of  course,  was  one  of  the  party,  trotted 
soberly  along  toward  the  village,  where  he  would 
wait  for  his  mistress  upon  the  steps  of  either  the 
market  or  grocery  store,  according  as  he  under 
stood  her  destination. 

As  the  train  reached  the  curve  Tommy,  whose 
eye  was  at  the  chink,  gave  a  shriek  and  dashed 


TROUBLE   BEGINS  65 

himself  at  the  barrier,  wailing :  "  Lily,  Lily,  my 
Lily  !  She'll  be  killed  !  O  Anne,  come  quick  !  " 

In  reality,  by  this  time  Lily  had  crossed  the 
rails  and  was  quite  safe,  but  her  master's  cry  made 
her  turn  to  locate  him.  Whether  she  thought  he 
was  in  pain  or  danger  no  one  knows,  but  at  that 
moment  the  train  rounded  the  curve,  whistling 
furiously.  To  the  bewildered  dog  it  must  have 
been  associated  with  her  master's  scream  or  else 
sounded  like  a  challenge,  for  like  a  flash  she 
turned  and  charged  the  monstrous  engine  face  to 
face.  Tommy  cast  himself  face  downward  on  the 
roadway,  his  tears  making  mud  of  the  dust.  Anne 
caught  hold  of  the  railing  and  closed  her  eyes 
while  the  train  thundered  by  underneath.  Lily 
lay  quite  still  high  up  on  the  bank  ;  the  engine 
had  been  quickly  merciful. 

That  afternoon  Baldy  buried  Lily  in  the  corner 
of  the  orchard  pasture  where  there  was  quite  a 
company  of  pet  animals,  ranging  from  canaries, 
with  school  slates  for  headstones,  to  Brownie,  the 
dear  old  pony  that  had  belonged  to  Anne's  mother 
when  a  girl,  and  lived  out  a  happy  old  age  in 
that  very  pasture.  One  thing  about  pet  animals  is 
that  their  lives  at  best  are  so  short,  that  we  should 
treat  them  very  kindly  to  make  up  for  it. 

Some  of  the  neighbours  laughed  at  what  they 


66  DOGTOWN 

called  Unhappy  Hall  Cemetery,  but  Anne  resented 
this  with  a  good  deal  of  spirit,  saying,  "  I  think 
that  it  is  very  mean  to  love  an  animal  one  day, 
when  it  is  alive  and  can  amuse  you,  and  then  throw 
it  on  the  ash  heap  the  next,  just  because  it's  dead 
and  can't  help  itself." 

Tommy  still  crying,  and  remorseful  at  perhaps 
having  caused  Lily's  death  by  calling  her  at  the 
wrong  moment,  insisted  upon  Miss  Jule,  and  his 
father,  and  mother  attending  her  funeral.  Anne 
made  a  wreath  of  her  best  flowers,  sacrificing  four 
tea  rosebuds  and  all  of  her  mignonette  and  helio 
trope,  but  Tommy  would  have  none  of  it.  In 
stead,  he  begged  two  beef  bones  from  the  cook, 
and  tying  them  together  crosswise  with  Anne's 
best  pink  hair  ribbon,  which  she  had  not  the 
heart  to  deny  him,  put  them  on  the  middle  of  the 
mound,  saying  between  sobs,  "  She  —  loved — bones 
—  but  —  she  didn't  like  flowers  —  except  to  sleep 
on,"  which  was  perfectly  true,  her  favourite 
places  for  a  siesta  having  been  alternately  the 
verbena,  nasturtium,  or  lettuce  bed. 

Tommy's  father  and  mother  were  resigned, 
though  they  did  not  say  much  about  it  before  the 
children.  Complaints  had  begun  to  reach  their 
ears  that  Lily  not  only  felt  it  her  duty  to  prevent 
strange  people  from  coming  near  Tommy,  but 


TROUBLE  BEGINS  67 

declined  to  let  them  pass  by  on  the  road  unchal 
lenged  ;  and  though  they  cherished  all  animals, 
they  never  allowed  them  to  become  a  nuisance  or 
bore  those  who  cared  less  for  them. 

Baldy  was  also  resigned  and  spoke  his  mind 
freely,  much  to  Tommy's  chagrin. 

As  for  Dogtown,  it  was  jubilant  to  the  barking 
point,  especially  among  the  lower  classes,  consist 
ing  of  those  dogs  who,  being  in  reduced  circum 
stances,  had  been  used  to  come  shrinking  and 
timid  between  dusk  and  dawn  for  castaway  bones 
or  swill-pail  dainties. 

Waddles  was  liberal  minded  upon  such  matters 
—  as  liberal  as  the  law  allows.  Dog  law  says  that 
no  dog  shall  dig  up  a  bone  that  another  has 
buried ;  but  all  bones  that  lie  abandoned  and  un 
covered  are  public  property  and  fair  eating. 

Waddles,  being  affluent,  never  ate  swill,  and 
only  buried  special  bones  to  ripen,  casting  others 
about  at  random,  often  with  scraps  of  flesh  un- 
gnawed  ;  for  this  he  was  regarded  in  Dogtown  as 
the  people's  friend. 

Lily,  in  coming,  stopped  this  patronage.  She 
had  known  want  herself,  in  the  days  when  she 
tramped  with  gypsies,  so  she  ranged  about,  indus 
triously  burying  everything  she  found  for  pos 
sible  future  use,  and  kept  such  a  strict  watch  on 


68 


DOGTOWN 


all  the  outbuildings  that  the  most  ravenous  cur 
dared  not  steal  a  lap  of  sour  milk  from  the 
pig's  trough  for  fear  of  seeing  those  wide  jaws 
gnashing  in  front  of  him  ;  for  Lily  had  the  one 
bad  trait  of  her  race  :  she  laid  hold  without 
warning. 

So  after  all  it  was  only  Tommy  who  grieved  for 
Lily.  To  him  she  stood  for  property  rights, 
strength,  and  friendship,  and  for  a  time  he  was 
inconsolable. 

"  Let's  come  home  and  see  the  twins  have  their 
supper  ;  it  won't  do  any  good  for  you  to  stay  here 
and  cry.  Your  eyes  are  swelled  up  like  a  frog's, 


TROUBLE   BEGINS  69 

now,"  said  Anne,  trying  to  lead  Tommy  away 
after  Baldy  and  his  shovel  had  disappeared. 

"  Supposin'  it  was  Waddles  was  dead,  would 
you  stop  cry  in'  —  the  very  same  day  —  even  if  you 
were  frogs  ?  " 

"  Waddles  !  why  that  is  entirely  different  ;  he 
is  a  person.  There  is  no  other  dog  like  him,"  and 
then  Anne  sat  down  suddenly  on  the  tumble-down 
stone  fence  in  sheer  amazement  at  the  possibility 
of  mischance  overtaking  her  little  friend. 

A  friend  he  was,  and  she  was  entirely  right  — 
there  was  no  other  quite  like  him  among  sturdy, 
self-reliant,  gentlemen  dogs.  He  had  been  so  long 
the  companion  of  the  House  People  that,  without 
being  of  the  objectionable,  pampered,  perfumed, 
spoon-fed  type  of  lap  dog  who  demands  the  care 
that  a  child  alone  should  have,  he  really  seemed 
to  be,  as  Anne  said,  a  person. 

Waddles  did  not  know  a  single  taught  trick  ; 
he  could  not  hold  sugar  on  his  nose,  like  Miss 
Letty's  poodle,  Hamlet  ;  he  could  not  sit  up  and 
beg,  though  he  had  a  language  of  his  own,  part 
gesture,  part  speech,  by  which  he  could  ask  for 
anything  that  he  could  not  get  without  aid. 

In  his  frisky  youth  even  he  scorned  the  mere 
idea  of  jumping  through  a  hoop,  or  the  poodle 
trick  of  "saying  his  prayers." 


70  DOGTOWN 

Yet  there  were  few  walls  that  he  could  not 
manage  to  get  over  or  through,  and  he  would  put 
his  paws  upon  his  mistress's  knees  and  gaze  into  her 
face  in  unmistakable  supplication. 

"It's  a  great  responsibility  having  a  dog  like 
Waddles,"  Anne  had  said  one  day,  shortly  after 
her  brother  was  born,  when  she  had  given  him 
half  of  her  name,  and  stopped  being  Tommy- 
Anne,  and  there  had  been  much  talk  about  her 
new  responsibility.  "  Do  you  know,  mother,  I 
believe  Waddles  thinks  that  I'm  God,  and  it  will 
be  dreadful  if  I'm  unkind  and  disappoint  him." 

No,  Waddles  was  untrained  and  untutored  in 
the  common  sense  of  the  words,  but  he  "  knew," 
which  was  better ;  his  method  of  treeing  cats  or 
coons  in  company  with  Miss  Jule's  big  Ben  Uncas, 
and  the  fox  terrier,  Quick,  though  somewhat 
reprehensible,  was  a  marvel  of  military  tactics, 
and  it  was  knowledge  of  this  sort  that  made  and 
kept  him  Mayor  of  Dogtown  ;  for  he  was  the  one 
dog  that  no  other  had  ever  attacked  or  fought, 
so  it  was  no  wonder  that  Anne  grew  grave  at 
the  mere  suggestion  of  losing  him,  though  never 
dreaming  that  there  was  really  trouble  hovering 
about,  and  that,  too,  from  a  dog  of  the  Happy 
Hall  household  and  herself. 

For  a  time  after  Lily's   departure    everything 


TROUBLE  BEGINS  71 

was  peaceful.  Jack  and  Jill  were  fast  growing 
able  to  play  and  indulge  in  the  wrestling  matches 
that  make  puppies  quick-witted  and  strengthen 
their  muscles. 

Happy  often  superintended  these  bouts  herself, 
stirring  up  first  one  pup  and  then  the  other, 
often  aiding  and  protecting  the  under  dog  if  too 
roughly  vanquished.  Anne  soon  discovered  that 
these  affairs  were  not  merely  aimless  play  upon 
Happy's  part,  but  a  way  she  took  for  teaching 
the  twins  how  to  protect  themselves. 

The  next  step  was  to  teach  them  to  protect 
their  food,  and  when  one  day  Happy  dragged  a 
ripe  and  well-cleaned  beef  bone  from  its  hiding- 
place,  and  deliberately  threw  it  down  between 


Jack  and  Jill,  and  they  began  a  struggle  for  its 
possession,  Anne  in  amazement  rushed  into  the 
house  to  call  the  family,  crying  :  "  Do  come  out 
and  see  the  queerest  thing  —  Happy  is  teaching 


72  DOGTOWN 

the  pups  to  play  '  snatch  bone '  exactly  the  same 
way  as  Waddles  played  it  with  Lumbeiiegs  when 
he  was  a  puppy.  You'll  really  have  to  see  it  to 
believe  what  I  say."  It  was  more  than  true,  for 
not  only  did  they  wrestle  and  snatch  the  bone 
from  one  another,  seeking  in  turn  to  hide  it  in 
the  grass  under  a  few  leaves,  but  when  the  frolic 
was  fast  turning  to  a  pitched  battle,  and  ludicrous 
baby  growls  mingled  with  flashing  teeth  from 
between  drawn-up  lips,  then  Happy  gave  a  sharp 
"  yap "  that  must  have  meant  something  very 
dreadful,  for  the  pups  instantly  let  go  and  drew 
apart  with  a  most  abject  droop  of  the  tail,  while 
she  seized  the  bone,  and  trotting  off  reburied  it. 

Though  Waddles  seldom  forgot  his  dignity 
sufficiently  to  play  with  the  twins,  he  allowed 
them  to  take  morsels  from  his  dish,  and  was 
always  close  at  hand  if  their  shrill  cries  told  that 
they  were  in  trouble,  and  the  slightest  look  from 
Happy  brought  him  to  her  aid. 

Lumberlegs,  on  the  contrary,  delighted  to  gam 
bol  with  them,  and  his  clumsy  bounds  and  imita 
tions  of  their  gestures  usually  ended  in  his  over 
throw,  when  he  would  lie  on  his  back  with  a  most 
idiotic  grin  upon  his  face,  fanning  the  air  with  his 
paws,  while  the  twins  gnawed  at  his  great  tail 
with  mock  fierceness. 


TROUBLE   BEGINS  73 

Now  the  race  law  for  puppies  and  grown  dogs 
is  quite  different,  even  as  are  those  laws  that  gov 
ern  childhood  and  manhood  among  House  People. 
Actions  that  are  tolerated  and  even  encouraged  in 
puppyhood  are  read  as  insults  when  done  by  a 
dog  of  two  years,  and  bear  a  penalty. 

In  spite  of  Waddles's  instructions  and  warnings, 
Lumberlegs  was  either  heedless  of  the  law,  often 
deliberately  breaking  it,  or  else  from  his  size  and 
strength  felt  himself  superior  to  it ;  which  it  was 
Anne  could  never  tell.  Perhaps  it  was  because 
he  was  unevenly  developed,  for  he  had  all  a 
man  dog's  jealousy  and  craving  for  the  exclu 
sive  attention  of  his  owners,  while  he  kept  his 
baby  playfulness  and  total  disregard  of  food 
rights.  So  trouble  befell  one  fine  day,  like  rain 
from  sudden  clouds  that  no  one  has  noticed  gath 
ering. 

After  it  had  happened  Anne  was  continually 
remembering  little  things  that  might  have  given 
her  warning. 

Waddles  had  a  favourite  afternoon  station  on  the 
end  of  the  porch  that  commanded  the  front  and 
barn  roads,  the  front  door,  and  the  garden  also  if  he 
turned  his  head.  Suddenly  Lumberlegs  regularly 
appropriated  this  watch-tower,  and  his  length 
being  so  great  that  there  was  no  view  from  a  back 


74 


DOGTOWN 


seat    Waddles,    after    unavailing   verbal   rumon- 
strance,  was  forced  to  lie  upon  the  grass. 


Waddles  was  the  only  dog  that  had  been  allowed 
in  the  dining  room  at  meal  times,  when  he  sat 
quietly  under  the  table  at  Anne's  feet.  Soon 
Lumberlegs  discovered  a  way  of  opening  the  door 
and  he  would  hide  under  the  table,  lying  at 
Tommy's  feet.  As  he  was  quiet,,  and  Tommy 
declared  that  he  made  "  a  fine  feet  bench,"  he 
was  allowed  to  remain.  Consequently  Waddles 
was  squeezed  against  the  table's  claw  legs  and 
presently  left  his  old  place  and  lay  disconsolately 
upon  the  door-mat. 

When  Lumberlegs  came,  a  gift  from  Miss  Jule, 
he  was  regarded  as  Tommy's  property  ;  but  when 


TROUBLE  BEGINS  75 

the  novelty  wore  off,  and  Jack  and  Jill  became 
counter  attractions,  he  turned  wholly  to  Anne  to 
supply  his  needs  both  of  food  and  affection,  and 
became  devotedly  attached  to  her  as  big  dogs 
usually  are  to  only  one  person ;  while  Anne, 
though  faithful  to  Waddles,  returned  his  devotion, 
for  he  was  in  many  ways  a  noble  dog. 

Anne  had  insisted  almost  from  her  babyhood 
that  one  of  her  ancestors  must  have  been  an 
Indian,  so  fond  she  was  of  wild  ways  and  things, 
and  this  liking  did  not  decrease  as  she  grew  of  an 
age  to  crave  friends  of  her  own  race. 

She  still  tramped  about  the  near-by  woods,  but 
Miss  Letty  was  often  her  companion.  Also  Miss 
Letty  was  timorous  and  made  a  point  of  insisting 
that  Lumberlegs  go  with  them.  This  he  often 
did,  and  would  either  follow  close  or  sit  quite  still 
on  guard  for  any  length  of  time  ;  while  Waddles 
and  Happy  would  perhaps  strike  a  trail  and  dash 
off  in  full  cry,  thereby  disturbing  the  very  things 
that  Anne  had  come  to  watch.  One  day,  after 
they  had  in  this  way  scattered  a  quail  brood  that 
Anne  had  hunted  from  the  time  that  Bobwhite 
announced  his  arrival,  until  she  found  the  dear  lit 
tle  chicks  huddled  in  a  leafy  hollow  among  wild 
blackberry  canes  on  the  orchard  edge,  she  felt 
provoked,  and  did  not  allow  Waddles  to  go  to  walk 


76  DOGTOWN 

with  her  for  almost  a  week.  "  Mistress,"  said 
he,  his  eyes  growing  deep  and  luminous  with 
reproach,  "  I've  always  been  with  you  until  now ; 
have  you  forgotten  all  those  fine  days  before 
Tommy  came,  and  there  was  only  you  and  I? 
Don't  you  remember  I  was  with  you  when  we  met 
the  miller's  bull,  and  he  was  so  angry  because, 
though  he  tolled  the  bell  at  Cock  Robin's  funeral, 
they  didn't  ask  him  to  the  feast,  and  how  I 
followed  you  and  Obi  when  you  went  for  the 
wood -duck's  nest,  though  I  was  very  sick,  and  that 
day  when  Ko-ko-ko-ho  showed  us  the  way  to 
where  the  last  rattlesnake  was,  and  the  night  that 
we  went  up  on  the  hill  and  I  barked  you  awake 
just  when  you  thought  you  were  at  the  Forest 
Circus  ?  What  has  happened,  mistress  ?  Are  you 
tired  of  me,  or  can  that  Lumberlegs  show  you 
better  paths  than  I  do  ?  Though  you  gave  my 
tail  and  back  legs  half  to  Tommy  when  he  was 
born,  I've  always  used  them  to  follow  you  and  tell 
you  I  was  glad  just  the  same  as  ever,  but  now  you 
love  Lumberlegs  best." 

"  You  dear,  jealous  old  Waddlekins,"  cried  Anne, 
lifting  his  paws  to  her  knee  as  of  old  so  that  he 
stood  up  and  she  could  look  in  his  face,  "  it's  noth 
ing  of  the  kind,  only  Miss  Letty  often  comes  with 
me,  and  she  is  used  to  the  city,  and  she  doesn't 


TROUBLE  BEGINS  77 

care  for  those  long  'go  over  everything'  walks 
that  we  take,  and  she  has  read  in  the  papers  about 
tramps,  and  thinks  Lumberlegs  makes  a  splendid 
policeman.  Besides,  you  know  that  you  chased  all 
those  lovely  little  quails  off  our  land  just  when 
they  were  getting  big  enough  to  have  their  pic 
tures  taken,  and  father  had  spent  a  lot  of  money 
for  rubber  tubing  so  he  could  work  his  camera 
from  behind  the  old  green  apple  tree.  Now  they 
are  as  shy  as  loons,  and  pop  down  in  those  wild 
roses  when  we  are  a  whole  field  away  and  there 
isn't  even  a  big  bush  to  hide  behind. 

"  But  never  mind  ;  I'm  sorry,  anyway,  so  touch 
noses  and  be  friends,  and  to-morrow  we  will  do  the 
brook  walk  all  by  ourselves  ;  for  even  if  I  do  love 
Lumberlegs,  it's  quite  different." 

Instead  of  the  usual  dainty  lick  Waddles  gave 
a  half-suppressed  growl.  Anne  dropped  his  paws, 
exclaiming  in  surprise  :  "  To  think  of  it,  you 
growled  at  me  when  I  was  apologizing,  the  very 
first  time  in  your  life,  too.  I  think  you  had  better 
go  over  and  rest  in  your  kennel  and  think  it  over." 

Then  she  led  him  to  his  little  house,  snapped  the 
chain  in  his  collar,  and  walked  away  without  once 
looking  back,  Lumberlegs  leaving  his  stolen  seat 
on  the  porch  to  follow  her. 

The  truth  about  the  growl  was  this  :  Waddles, 


78  DOGTOWN 

dislodged  by  Lumberlegs  from  many  of  his  nap 
nooks,  had  lately  taken  to  lying  in  the  grass  or 
under  bushes,  which  as  he  was  elderly  and  the 
season  very  wet  had  given  him  rheumatism  in  his 
hind  quarters.  As  Anne  held  up  his  paws  the 
strain  soon  gave  his  back  a  miserable  wrench. 
This  caused  the  growl,  and  for  thus  being  mis 
understood  to  threaten  his  idol,  Waddles  was  not 
only  left  behind,  but  dethroned  and  chained  up  in 
his  rival's  presence,  where  he  stood  as  if  trans 
fixed  with  a  strange,  drawn  expression  on  his  face, 
which  when  House  People  wear  we  know  they 
are  struggling  to  keep  back  tears. 

If  only  Anne  had  then  remembered  what  she 
had  once  said  about  disappointing  him  ! 


CHAPTER  IV 

EXIT   LUMBERLEGS 


ONE  morning   the   skirmishing  that  had  been 
going  on  for  several  weeks  between  Waddles  and 


81 


82  DOGTOWN 

Lumberlegs  broke  into  open  warfare,  and  it  was 
the  misguided  interference  of  a  would-be  peace 
maker  that  quickened  the  crisis. 

This  was  Mrs.  Happy  Waddles  who,  from  pok 
ing  her  pretty  little  nose  where  it  did  not  belong, 
and  relying  too  much  upon  the  indulgence  accorded 
her  sex,  not  only  very  nearly  made  herself  a  widow, 
but  caused  a  household  commotion  as  well. 

As  we  have  noticed  before,  Lumberlegs  was 
very  poorly  instructed  in  dog  law,  in  spite  of 
having  grown  up  side  by  side  with  Waddles,  who 
was  letter  perfect  in  it.  Not  only  did  Lumberlegs 
ignore  the  "rights  of  age"  and  "buried  bones 
law,"  but  he  began  breaking  the  "  fresh  food  law  " 
as  well. 

House  People  should  make  it  as  easy  as  possible 
for  their  f ourfoots  to  keep  this  law  by  giving  each 
one  its  rations  separately,  for  it  is  only  in  early 
puppy  days  that  dogs  may  be  trusted  to  feed  from 
the  same  dish,  and  even  then  the  timid  and  weak 
fare  poorly. 

Waddles  had  the  appetite  of  a  dog  who  had 
been  reared  alone,  and  could  therefore  pick  and 
choose.  He  ate  deliberately  and  never  ravenously, 
sniffing  cautiously  at  each  morsel ;  for  once,  when 
he  was  ill,  Anne  had  made  the  mistake  of  giving 
him  pills  concealed  in  his  food.  Of  course  he 


EXIT  LUMBERLEGS  83 

discovered  them,  spat  them  out  with  much  sput 
tering,  and  never  forgot  the  occurrence. 

On  the  other  hand,  Lumberlegs  and  Happy  were 
both  gluttons  ;  the  first  because  he  was  so  big  that 
it  seemed  impossible  to  give  him  enough,  while 
the  little  beagle  was  perhaps  prompted  to  overeat 
by  a  haunting  memory  of  the  single  daily  meal  of 
her  kennel  life. 

In  this  particular  case  the  bone  of  contention 
belonged  to  a  ham,  a  dainty  especially  kept  for 
Waddles.  He  had  taken  a  few  gnaws  from  it  and 
hidden  it  under  the  flap  of  the  cellar  door,  his 
favourite  cache,  while  he  went  for  his  daily  walk  to 
the  village  with  Anne  ;  for  whatever  his  faults  he 
had  always  preferred  her  companionship  to  food, 
never  swerving  even  for  liver  and  bacon. 

Along  sauntered  Lumberlegs,  searching  for 
something  to  add  relish  to  his  ample  breakfast  of 
dog  bread.  He  tried  to  investigate  the  swill  pail, 
but  it  not  only  had  a  tight  zinc  cover,  after  the 
fashion  of  all  well-bred  scrap  pails,  but  for  double 
protection  there  was  a  stone  on  top  which  he  play 
fully  knocked  off  with  one  sweep  of  his  paw. 

Straws  show  which  way  the  wind  blows,  and 
this  stone  showed  where  the  ham  bone  was  by 
rolling  directly  against  it. 

Lumberlegs  seized  upon  the  bone  with  delight 


84  DOGTOWN 

and  tossed  it  into  the  air  gaily,  preparing  to  have 
a  good  play  before  making  a  meal. 

Happy,  whose  deafness  seemed  to  sharpen  her 
sense  of  smell,  came  from  under  a  bush  where  she 
had  been  taking  a  nap  in  company  with  Jack  and 
Jill,  and  sat  where  she  could  keep  her  eyes  upon  the 
bone,  giving  a  little  whine  now  and  then,  moisten 
ing  her  lips  with  the  edge  of  her  pink  tongue, 
and  casting  appealing  glances  at  Lumbeiiegs  that 
only  seemed  to  stimulate  him  to  further  antics. 

It  is  almost  always  the  soft-haired,  mild-eyed, 
helpless  looking  sort  of  people  like  Happy  that  sit 
still  and  brew  trouble,  even  in  bigger  places  than 
Dogtown. 

Waddles,  coming  home  from  market  half  an 
hour  later,  took  in  the  situation  at  a  glance.  He 
had  borne  a  great  deal  in  silence,  but  this  was  too 
much.  It  was  high  time  for  his  position  as  house 
fourfoot  at  Happy  Hall  to  be  upheld.  He  would 
try  his  authority  as  "oldest  dog"  first.  So,  going 
forward  slowly  with  a  contracted  tiptoe  gait  and 
tail  held  erect,  he  made  a  series  of  noises  that 
seemed  graded  between  growls  and  real  speech. 
Lumberlegs  understood  this  language  perfectly, 
and  rolling  on  his  back,  he  gave  the  bone  a  final, 
careless  toss,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  I  was  only  play 
ing,  take  your  old  bone." 


EXIT   LUMBERLEGS  85 

Waddles  advanced  to  seize  his  property,  and 
all  would  have  been  well,  at  least  for  that  time,  if 
Happy  had  not  interfered. 

It  had  happened  several  times  that  when  the 
two  dogs  had  been  playing  with  or  contending 
for  a  bone,  Happy  had  ended  the  matter  by  run 
ning  between  them,  giving  each  a  caressing  lick 
on  the  nose,  and  making  off  with  the  bone  her 
self,  leaving  them  looking  sheepish,  but  too  polite 
to  remonstrate.  She  now  tried  the  same  tactics, 
but  in  reaching  up  to  Lumberlegs,  who  was  rolling 
in  the  grass,  she  received  an  entirely  uninten 
tional  blow  from  one  of  his  paws,  and  ran  away 
squealing  in  terror  out  of  all  proportion  to  her 
hurt. 

Waddles,  with  a  deep,  short  growl  that  must 
have  been  a  wicked  word  in  dog  talk,  sprang  upon 
Lumberlegs  ;  but  before  he  could  do  more,  the 
great  jaws  closed  on  his  neck,  and  he  was  shaken 
as  a  cat  shakes  a  rat. 

Fortunately,  Waddles  wore  a  stout  collar  which 
broke  the  force  of  the  grip,  otherwise  his  neck 
might  have  been  broken  before  Baldy,  who  heard 
Anne's  cry,  came  to  stop  the  fray.  But  as  it 
was,  the  sleek  white  neck  was  streaked  with  red, 
there  was  a  rent  in  one  of  the  beautiful  ears,  and 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life  Waddles,  the  Mayor 


86  DOGTOWN 

of  Dogtown,  had  been  mauled  and  shaken  like  a 
common  cur.  And  this,  too,  when  he  was  grow 
ing  old,  and  by  a  dog  of  the  same  household.  True, 
in  the  old  days,  he  often  had  differences  with  Tiger, 
the  miller's  cat ;  but  cat  scratches  on  one's  nose 
are  considered  wounds  of  honour  in  dog  etiquette, 
and  are  no  disgrace. 

Lumberlegs  was  shut  in  the  yard  beside  his 
kennel,  and  Waddles  retreated  to  the  remotest 
corner  of  the  cellar,  from  which  he  refused  to 
come  forth  even  when  Anne,  bringing  warm 
water,  a  bit  of  sponge,  and  sticking  plaster,  called 
him  in  her  most  persuasive  voice. 

"  He  feels  sulky,"  said  Baldy,  "  leave  him  alone 
a  spell  and  he'll  come  out  all  right.  I  reckon 
his  feelings  is  hurt  more'n  his  neck." 

"  That  is  just  it,"  said  Anne,  sorrowfully,  "and 
to  a  dog  like  Waddles  hurt  feelings  are  much 
worse  to  bear  than  a  bitten  neck." 

But  when  he  failed  to  appear  at  dinner  time, 
and  Anne  took  a  lantern  to  hunt  for  him  among 
the  coal-bin  caverns,  the  poor  neck  was  so  swollen 
that  the  collar  was  sunken  in  the  flesh  like  a 
ring  on  a  fat  finger.  Even  when  the  collar  was 
taken  off,  the  bite  bathed  and  cooled  with  a  sooth 
ing  wash,  and  the  rent  in  the  ear  drawn  together 
with  narrow  strips  of  rubber  plaster,  he  refused 


EXIT  LUMBERLEGS  87 

either  to  respond  to  Anne's  petting,  come  up 
stairs,  or  in  fact  move  at  all,  though  after  she 
reluctantly  left,  she  heard  him  lapping  water  from 
the  refrigerator  pan  after  his  usual  hot  weather 
habit. 

"I  wouldn't  trouble  if  I  was  you,"  said  Baldy, 
cheerfully ;  "  they  all  hev  their  little  scrapes. 
It's  accordin'  to  natur'  for  dogs  to  delight  to  bark 
and  bite,  like  it  says  in  the  Sunday-school  poetry, 
that  everybody  knows." 

"  That's  one  of  the  things  that  '  everybody 
knows  '  that  isn't  true,"  answered  Anne,  emphati 
cally  ;  "  dogs'  real  delight  is  to  live  with  people 
and  be  understood  and  have  their  feelings  re 
spected.  That's  why  I'm  afraid  that  Waddles 
will  never  forget  to-day ;  he  has  been  feeling  hurt 
about  Lumberlegs  for  a  long  while,  and  now  he 
thinks  he  is  in  disgrace  besides." 

"  Feed  the  dogs  separately,  keep  them  apart  for 
a  time  and  the  stray  bones  raked  up,  and  I  think 
the  feud  will  blow  over,"  said  Anne's  father. 
Her  mother  thought  differently,  for  Lumberlegs, 
the  boisterous  puppy,  and  Bigness,  the  full- 
grown  man  dog,  standing  thirty-five  inches  at  the 
shoulder,  were  entirely  different  beings.  She  had 
watched  him  at  play  with  Tommy  and  noticed 
the  way  he  eyed  with  resentment  everything  that 


88  DOGTOWN 

came  near.  She  knew  that  when  he  followed 
Anne  to  the  woods  she  had  more  than  police  pro 
tection.  He  was  of  the  faithful,  jealous  disposition, 
that  must  be  the  only  one  of  his  kind  in  a  home 
that  gave  wide  range  for  wandering,  not  one  of 
several  house  fourfoots  that  recognized  a  smaller 
dog  as  master,  and  lived  literally  in  a  town  of 
numerous  dogs. 

The  feeding  separately  matter  was  easily  done, 
for  Waddles  persistently  refused  to  leave  the 
cellar  except  on  stealthy  trips  toward  evening, 
or  when  he  was  sure  that  his  foe  was  out  of  range. 
How  he  knew  this  was  a  puzzle  to  Anne,  for  he 
could  neither  see  nor  hear  from  the  depths  of  the 
coal-bin,  into  which  fastness  he  crawled  through 
the  small,  square  door  at  the  bottom  made  for  the 
shovel.  She  soon  realized,  however,  that  his  keen 
scent  told  him. 

Lumberlegs  also  knew  quite  well  when  Wad 
dles  was  in  his  retreat,  for  though  he  did  not  care 
to  venture  down  the  steep  stone  steps  because  his 
back  legs  were  rather  sprawly,  he  would  walk 
past  the  door  growling  softly,  with  bristling  hair, 
and  then  give  a  broken  bark  and,  turning,  kick 
grass  into  the  air  in  the  direction  of  the  cellar 
with  a  gesture  of  contempt. 

The  two  weeks  that  followed  were  ones  of  trial 


EXIT  LUMBERLEGS  89 

for  Anne.  She  was  in  perpetual  fear  that  the 
dogs  would  meet,  for  she  grew  more  sure  every 
day  that  "  making-up  "  was  out  of  the  question. 

Even  though  Lumberlegs  was  in  his  yard,  Wad 
dles  would  not  follow  her  to  the  village.  He  for 
sook  his  friends  along  the  route  upon  whom  he 
had  never  before  failed  to  call  daily,  sturdily  going 
the  rounds  alone  if  Anne  omitted  her  walk. 

It  was  not  until  he  ceased  to  follow  her  that 
Anne  fully  realized  what  a  friend  she  had  lost, 
one  who  was  self-reliant,  faithful,  and  wise,  giving 
no  trouble,  asking  nothing  beyond  the  trifling  care 
his  rare  ailments  needed,  and  the  affection  his 
intelligence  won.  For  Waddles  knew  the  speech 
of  House  People  as  well  as  Anne  interpreted 
Heart  of  Nature's  language,  and  he  and  his  mis 
tress  had  a  perfect,  mutual  understanding. 

If  Anne,  wearing  her  common  hat,  said, "  Do 
you  want  to  go  to  the  post-office  ?  "  he  would  give 
a  cheer  and  start  off  down  the  hill  before  her, 
waiting  on  the  office  steps ;  while  if  she  said  store 
or  market  instead  of  post-office,  he  would  wait  by 
the  respective  doors. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  she  wore  a  different  hat  or 
said,  "Not  to-day,  Waddlekins,  I'm  going  to 
town,"  he  might  sometimes  go  with  her  to  the 
gate  but  never  farther. 


90 


DOGTOWN 


His  own  voice,  too,  had  different  shades  of 
meaning,  even  beyond  the  others  of  his  vocal  race, 
for  if  any  dog  has  speech  it  is  the  beagle  hound. 
While  he  was  on  guard  no  one  could  enter  the 
gate,  two  hundred  yards  from  the  house,  un- 
signalled,  either  from  his  post  on  the  porch  corner 
or  his  summer  night  quarters  in  the  wide  window 
of  the  upper  hall. 

For  a  twofoot  whom  he  did  not  at  once  recog 
nize  he  had  a  bark  of  inquiry  ;  for  a  total  stranger 

a  querulous 
gruff  note  of 
warning  ;  for 
a  friend  the 
i  nqu  ir  ing 
tone  quickly 
broke  into 
rapid  barks, 
like  voluble 
talk  ;  while 
for  animals 
his  voice  had 
a  wholly  dif 
ferent  key, 
starting  in 
a  series  of 
monotonous 


EXIT  LUMBERLEGS  91 

yaps,  until,  if  at  liberty,  he  would  sniff  the  air, 
catch  the  trail,  and  follow  it  in  full  cry. 

At  night  when  he  barked  every  member  of  the 
household  knew  whether  the  intruder  was  man  or 
beast.  Oftentimes  at  dawn  he  would  push  open 
Anne's  door  and  lick  her  hand  that  was  lying  on 
the  counterpane,  to  signify  that  he  wanted  the 
front  door  opened.  Then  when  she,  in  dressing 
gown  and  slippers,  or  sometimes,  I  must  confess, 
with  bare  toes  and  an  airy  nighty,  would  creep 
down  the  stairs  and  undo  the  bolts,  cautioning 
silence,  she  was  often  lured  out  on  to  the  porch  by 
the  expression  of  his  face  as  he  tiptoed  about, 
unravelling  the  different  trails  that  told  him  the 
story  of  the  night. 

Sometimes  he  would  give  a  growl  and  his  back 
bristled  —  that  meant  an  intruder  from  Dogtown 
had  left  an  unwelcome  message  or  disagreeable 
news.  Then  his  eyes  would  grow  deep  and  lumi 
nous,  and  when  Anne  asked,  "  Squirrel  ?  "  he  would 
give  a  short  yap  as  if  to  say,  "  No  good,"  and  gaze 
up  in  the  trees.  But  when  he  began  by  wildly  zig 
zagging  to  and  fro  with  head  down,  uttering  dis 
cordant  cries,  then  dashing  off  without  waiting 
to  answer  questions,  his  mistress  knew  that  he 
was  following  either  a  cat  or  rabbit,  and  that  he 
would  return  late  for  breakfast  and  very  tired. 


92  DOGTOWN 

To  think  that  the  little  animal  that  knew  all 
this  should  be  moping  unkempt  and  forlorn  in  the 
coal-bin,  gave  affectionate  Anne  the  heartache. 
Next  she  tried  the  experiment  of  having  Baldy 
carry  him  upstairs  and  give  him  a  good  bath,  for 
his  wounds  were  now  healed,  and  then  invited 
him  to  "  go  to  the  post-office  "  in  the  old-time  gay 
tone. 

For  a  moment  he  rallied  and  gave  an  answering 
cry  which  was  echoed  by  Bigness,  who,  as  chance 
would  have  it,  was  lying  in  the  shadow  of  the 
house  front,  Tommy  having  taken  him  from  his 
yard  and  strolled  away,  forgetting  to  put  him  up 
again. 

At  the  sound  Waddles  bristled  and  then  shrank 
away,  and  Anne  realized  for  the  first  time  how 
thin  and  altered  and  spiritless  he  was.  But  the 
next  day  a  change  came  over  him  :  he  forsook  the 
cellar  and  boldly  took  his  old  seat  under  the  apple 
tree  in  full  sight  of  Bigness's  house,  as  if  tempting 
fate;  but  as  he  did  not  come  out  Waddles  returned 
again  to  the  cellar. 

Tommy  sided  with  the  St.  Bernard,  wailing 
that  the  fault  was  all  Waddles's,  and  passionately 
refused  to  part  with  his  pet  and  have  Jack  and 
Jill  for  his  very  own,  even  though  Bigness  should 
go  to  a  beautiful  home  to  be  the  pet  of  his  dear 


EXIT  LUMBERLEGS  93 

friend,  little  Miss  Muffet,  who  lived  at  a  big  farm . 
far  away  and  had  no  dog  friend  at  all. 

"  The  train  killed  Lily,  and  now  you  want  to 
steal  Bigness  from  me  just  because  your  silly 
Waddles  is  selfish  and  wants  to  fight  and  have 
everybody  for  himself.  •  I  don't  care  if  he  was 
here  first  ;  he's  old  and  he'll  soon  be  dead,  any 
way  —  and  I'm  glad  and  —  "  but  he  didn't  finish, 
for  Anne,  sweet  tempered  and  fifteen  though  she 
was,  shook  her  little  brother  hard  and  then  flew 
up  the  hill  to  her  tree  perch  in  tears.  It  was 
the  first  time  that  Tommy  had  ever  been  shaken, 
and  he  was  as  surprised  and  heartbroken  as 
Waddles  had  been  at  his  overthrow. 

However,  he  did  not  cry  but  stood  quite  still, 
with  a  very  red  face  and  quivering  lips,  muttering 
to  himself,  "  Anne's  as  cross  as  Bigness  —  and  she 
hardly  never  cries  —  and  —  it's  horrid  to  be  shaken, 
and  I  guess  I  am  sorry  for  Waddles  —  a  —  little 
bit."  And  more  days  passed. 

******* 

In  the  coal-bin  crouched  Waddles  in  dismal 
plight,  his  brain  full  of  dark  thoughts  ;  for  dogs 
do  a  deal  of  thinking  when  they  seem  to  be  only 
dozing  in  the  sun  or  before  the  fire,  and  Waddles 
in  hiding  neither  ate  nor  slept  and  did  nothing 


94  DOGTOWN 

but  think,  for  it  was  two  days  now  since  he  had 
taken  more  than  a  drink  of  water.  Anne  did  not 
know  this,  for  the  food  she  took  him  disappeared 
into  the  capacious  stomachs  of  Jack  and  Jill,  who 
amused  themselves  half  the  day  by  rolling  and 
scrambling  up  and  down  the  cellar  steps. 

Waddles,  usually  so  spotless  and  neat,  who  often 
washed  his  face  twice  a  day  with  a  queer  motion 
of  his  hind  feet  peculiar  to  himself,  was  now 
wholly  unkempt,  his  hair  rough  and  dry,  and  his 
nose  smutty. 

The  truth  was  that  he  did  not  care  for  anything 
now  that  he  thought  his  mistress  misunderstood 
him,  neither  would  he  go  among  his  friends,  —  he, 
the  only  resident  of  Dogtown  who  had  never  been 
taunted  or  fought  by  another  dog,  to  be  whipped 
and  driven  to  cover  in  a  cellar  by  a  dog  of  his  own 
house  who  had  disobeyed  all  law  and  could  not  be 
reasoned  with !  This  was  a  state  of  things  not  to 
be  endured.  No,  he  would  try  once  more  and  give 
Bigness  the  punishment  he  deserved,  or  die  in  the 
attempt. 

Then  he  set  himself  to  wait  a  chance  and  time 
for  meeting  his  enemy,  for  both  dogs  were  closely 
watched  to  prevent  the  very  battle  that  he  was 
planning. 

Bigness  was  now  given  a  run  morning  and  even- 


EXIT  LUMBERLEGS  95 

ing,  but  was  kept  in  his  yard  the  rest  of  the  day 
when  Waddles  was  at  liberty  ;  but  the  time  soon 
came  when  somebody  forgot,  and  Bigness,  hurrying 
home  to  early  breakfast,  met  Waddles  standing 
rigid  and  motionless  by  the  corner  of  the  house. 


Anne,  awakened  suddenly  from  a  late  sleep, 
stood  in  the  middle  of  her  room  half  dazed,  not 
knowing  whether  the  sounds  she  heard  belonged 
to  a  dream  or  to  reality. 

Then  the  sound  came  again,  the  awful  choking, 
snarling  struggle  of  fighting  dogs,  always  a 
horrible  sound,  but  doubly  so  when  you  know  the 
dogs. 

Anne  ran  to  call  her  father,  her  heart  pounding 
as  if  it  would  jump  out  of  her  mouth.  Fortunately, 
he  was  already  dressed  and  out,  and  as  she  almost 
fell  downstairs,  hardly  touching  the  steps,  the 
noise  ceased  and  she  heard  her  father's  voice  say 
to  Baldy :  "Put  him  in  the  old  hay  barn  until  I 
decide  what  to  do.  I  will  attend  to  Waddles." 
Then  the  door  opened  and  her  father  entered 
with  a  distressed  face,  carrying  the  beagle  in  his 
arms. 

"  Is  he  killed  ?  "  she  gasped. 

"  No,   neither   very   badly   hurt    I   hope  ;    but 


96  DOGTOWN 

quite  exhausted.  I  never  shall  forget  the  expres 
sion  of  his  face  as  he  clung  to  that  great  jaw  that 
was  dragging  him  to  his  death  ;  it  was  like  that  of 
a  man  who  was  hopelessly  fighting  for  his  honour 
and  home. 

"  This  is  no  common  dog-fight,  little  daughter, 
where  both  dogs  should  be  punished  and  tied  up 
until  they  come  to  their  senses.  Waddles  has  been 
with  us  so  long  that  he  has  almost  human  feelings 
and  reason  ;  to  thrust  him  out  to  be  a  mere  dog 
again  would  be  wicked.  Lumberlegs  must  go  !  " 

At  these  words  Waddles,  who  was  lying  quite 
still  on  the  door-mat  where  his  master  had  laid 
him,  opened  his  eyes  and  wagged  his  tail,  with  very 
significant  if  rather  feeble  thumps. 


Though  Waddles  rallied  very  quickly,  the  bites 
on  his  neck,  'which  had  been  this  time  collarless, 
had  sunk  in  very  deep,  and  though  he  was  grad 
ually  growing  less  moody,  he  did  not  go  far  from 
the  house  or  take  up  his  old  ways,  and  seemed 
quite  conscious  that  Lumberlegs,  though  invisible, 
had  not  yet  left  the  premises. 

One  warm  night  about  a  week  after  the  fight, 
when  doors  and  windows  were  left  open,  and  the 
dogs  roved  about  at  will,  Anne  waked  to  find 


EXIT  LUMBERLEGS  97 

that  Waddles  was  sitting  beside  her  bed  in  such  a 
position  that  her  hand  that  hung  off  the  edge 
rested  on  his  neck. 

"  What  is  the  matter,  old  fellow,  do  you  want  a 
drink  ?  "  she  asked,  patting  him  ;  but  as  she  did 
so  she  felt  that  one  side  of  his  neck  was  burning 
hot  and  swelled  into  a  hard  lump. 

Next  day  the  veterinary  came  and  pronounced 
Waddles  a  very  sick  dog,  said  that  he  had  been 
poisoned  by  the  deepest  bite,  and  must  have  his 
neck  lanced  and  be  carefully  treated,  or  he  would 
die. 

44  I'll  take  him  right  along  with  me  to  my  hos 
pital  now  if  your  man  will  put  him  in  my  buggy. 
Hell  have  the  best  of  treatment,  and  it  will  be 
cheaper  than  keeping  him  here  and  having  me 
running  over.  Besides,  you  couldn't  take  care  of 
him  ;  it's  too  much  bother  for  you  to  dirty  your 
fingers  with,"  said  the  doctor,  kindly,  for  he  saw 
the  distress  in  Anne's  face. 

44  My  fingers  are  quite  used  to  dirt,"  said  Anne, 
quietly, 44  and  I've  got  a  4  First  Aid  to  the  Injured ' 
box  full  of  cotton  and  plaster  and  bandages,  and 
such  like,  for  I  fix  all  the  cut  fingers  and  base 
ball  noses  hereabout ;  there  are  five  boys  between 
here  and  the  cross-roads  that  play,  besides  a  fat 
girl  and  a  medium-old  lady  who  are  having  trou- 


98  DOGTOWN 

ble  in  learning  to  ride  wheels,  so  you  see  I've  had 
experience. 

"If  you  will  lance  Waddles's  neck  here,  I'm 
sure  I  can  take  care  of  him,  and  father  will  pay 
for  the  visits.  Or,  if  he  doesn't  want  to,  there  is 
my  camera  money,"  she  added  half  to  herself. 

This  same  camera  money  was  a  family  joke  and 
seemed  to  be  composed  of  magic  coin,  which,  no 
matter  how  often  it  was  spent,  never  seemed  to 
grow  less,  but  rather  to  increase. 

"  You'd  best  let  me  take  him  to  the  hospital. 
You  see,  I've  nothing  to  fasten  him  with,  and  he'll 
have  to  be  well  bound,  or  he  may  upset  the  whole 
business  and  perhaps  bite  me  to  boot." 

"  I'm  sure  he  will  sit  quite  still,  for  he  always 
has  before  ;  once  the  doctor  took  two  stitches  in 
his  back  because  the  milkman  put  barbed  wire 
on  his  fence  rails  without  Waddles's  knowing  it. 
And  then  last  spring  when  we  were  watching  a 
man  who  didn't  know  how  to  cast,  splashing 
around  the  stream  with  a  trout  rod,  he  hooked 
poor  Waddles,  who  was  quite  far  up  the  bank 
behind  him,  and  the  hook  had  to  be  cut  out,  but 
Waddles  never  bit  or  squealed.  He  knows  when 
he  is  ill,  and  that  we  want  to  help  him  ;  but  if  he 
went  away  from  home  to  the  hospital,  he  would  be 
too  sad  to  get  well,  even  if  you  were  good  to  him." 


EXIT  LUMBERLEGS  99 

"  She's  right,"  said  Baldy,  taking  a  hand  in 
the  discussion.  "  You  jes'  do  the  business.  I'll 
see  you  ain't  bit,  and  I'll  help  Anne  fix  the  little 
critter  up  as  often  as  needs  be  'til  he's  cured. 
Ah,  yes,  he'll  pull  through  all  right  if  he  stays 
to  home  'cause  he'll  want  ter  ;  but  if  he's  fetched 
away,  he  jes'  won't  care." 

So  the  deed  was  done,  Waddles  neither  strug 
gling  nor  crying,  and  great  relief  followed  the 
point  of  the  shining  lance. 

"It's  different  with  medicines,"  said  Anne,  as 
the  sensitive  nose  quivered  and  sneezed  when  the 
doctor  uncorked  a  bottle  of  pungent  creolin  to 
make  a  wash.  "  Waddles  doesn't  understand  about 
them,  and  he  may  not  like  the  bandages,  because 
it  seems  like  being  tied  up  ;  but  if  you'll  show 
me  once,  I  know  that  Baldy  and  I  can  manage." 

So  every  morning  for  a  week,  precisely  at  eight, 
when  Baldy's  chores  were  finished,  you  might  have 
seen  Anne  bring  her  "  First  Aid  "  box  to  the  back 
stoop,  and  change  Waddles's  bandages,  dressing  his 
hurt  as  carefully  as  the  doctor  himself  could  have 
done.  Baldy  had  to  help  by  holding  the  patient 
when  the  creolin  wash  was  used  ;  for  Waddles,  the 
house  fourfoot,  could  bear  pain,  but  Waddles,  the 
rabbit  hound,  could  not  endure  a  strong  odour 
without  choking  and  rolling  in  the  grass. 


100  DOGTOWN 

In  another  week  the  bandages  came  off  for 
good,  and  he  had  a  bath,  though  he  did  not  yet 
take  any  of  his  old  interest  in  making  his  toilet. 


One  day,  however,  a  change  came.  He  was 
lying  on  the  decrepit  old  sofa  in  the  upper  hall, 
where  Anne  was  used  to  curl  up  and  read  on 
rainy  days.  She  had  lent  him  her  soft  poppy 
chintz  sofa  pillow  that  she  had  made  with  great 
pains  to  match  her  bureau  set,  and  Waddles,  ly 
ing  there  luxuriously,  his  head  on  the  pillow 
and  his  paws  held  in  front  of  him  like  hands, 
gazed  at  Anne  with  a  glance  in  which  affection, 
comfort,  and  sleepiness  were  mingled. 

Wheels  crushed  the  gravel  and  Anne  going  to 
the  window  saw  the  runabout  wagon  with  Baldy 
and  a  strange  man  in  it  driving  out  of  the  stable 
yard.  Between  them  on  the  bottom  sat  Bigness, 


Miss  Muffet,  Brother,  and  Bigness. 


EXIT  LUMBERLEGS  103 

his  head  almost  on  a  level  with  theirs,  while  he 
strained  at  his  collar  and  looked  back  longingly 
as  he  passed  the  house. 

Anne  knew  that  he  was  to  go  to  his  new  home 
that  day.  She  had  gone  all  alone  to  give  him  a 
parting  hug  that  morning,  and  she  choked  as  she 
looked  at  him.  Tommy,  meantime,  was  up  in  the 
hayloft  having  his  cry  out,  with  no  other  company 
than  a  white  brahma  hen  who  had  stolen  her  nest. 

Waddles  sniffed,  and  getting  stiffly  down  from  the 
sofa  raised  himself,  paws  on  window  sill,  and  looked 
out.  He  saw  the  wagon,  the  men,  and  the  dog,  and 
he  understood.  He  had  the  courtesy  not  to  bark, 
but  his  tail  wagged  furiously.  Then  he  dropped 
to  the  floor  and  began  washing  his  face  vigorously 
with  his  hind  leg.  Waddles  was  himself  again. 
****** 

Bigness  went  to  live  with  little  Miss  Muffet 
and  her  brother  at  the  hill  farm  half  a  day's  drive 
away,  where  he  had  his  liberty,  good  eating,  was 
their  "ownliest,"  and  was  hugged  to  his  heart's 
content  ;  but  he  never  forgot  Anne,  and  when 
she  visited  him  he  had  eyes  only  for  her,  and 
awoke  the  echoes  baying  long  after  she  left. 

Anne  was  his  first  love,  and  to  be  the  first  love 
of  a  big  dog  is  a  rather  serious  thing  and  not  to 
be  lightly  undertaken. 


CHAPTER   V 

JACK   AND   JILL   WADDLES 

THIS  is  a  chronicle  of  the  doings  of  Jack  and  Jill 
the  twins,  pups  of  Waddles  and  Happy  of  Happy 
Hall,  who,  from  the  age  of  twelve  days  when  they 
completely  opened  their  eyes  on  the  world,  thought 
for  a  time,  until  they  met  experience,  that  it  was 
made  exclusively  for  themselves,  according  to  the 
thinking  of  many  two-footed  children. 

After  the  going  away  of  Lumberlegs,  Waddles's 
youth  came  back  to  him.  He  went  off  on  long 
excursions  with  his  neighbours,  bayed  a  juicy 
tenor  in  the  quartet  that  led  the  Dogtown  chorus 
in  its  practise  on  moonlight  nights,  and  actually 
threw  bones  into  the  air  and  played  with  them  as 
of  old. 

104 


JACK  AND   JILL   WADDLES  105 

Not  that  he  could  turn  as  quickly,  and  his  port 
liness  got  rather  in  the  way  as  he  tried  to  double 
on  himself ;  but  the  spirit  was  there,  which  is  the 
thing  that  counts. 

Waddles,  Mayor  of  Dogtown,  had  always  been 
an  important  person,  but  Waddles,  the  married 
man,  father  of  a  family  and  master  of  a  home 
consisting  of  three  houses  surrounded  by  -a  fine 
yard  and  equipped  with  porcelain-lined  food  dishes, 
hay  pillows,  and  other  luxuries,  was  of  double 
dignity. 

With  the  extra  food  supply  necessary  for  more 
dogs,  he  was  able  to  be  a  greater  patron  of  the 
poor  in  the  line  of  bones  and  left-over  dog  biscuit. 
Also  it  was  not  an  unusual  thing  to  see  him  pilot 
ing  a  tired  and  thirsty  dog,  who  had  been  follow 
ing  a  team  bound  for  the  market  town,  to  the 
trough  that  caught  the  well  drippings,  and  then 
to  a  particularly  cool  resting  spot  under  the  quince 
bushes  ;  for  this  particular  highway  was  a  trying 
place  for  thirsty  animals,  as  there  was  not  a  single 
spring  or  drinking-trough  between  the  Hilltop 
Kennels  and  Happy  Hall.  Yet,  in  spite  of  all  this 
outside  notoriety,  as  far  as  his  own  particular  fam 
ily  was  concerned,  he  was  tolerated,  but  that  was 

about  all. 
/ 

Anne  expected  that  he  would  be  sad  or  resent- 


106  DOGTOWN 

ful,  as  when  Lumberlegs  claimed  affection  that 
Waddles  considered  his  own  exclusive  property. 
He  was  neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  The  prov 
erb,  "  Every  dog  has  its  day,"  is  evidently  one 
of  the  recognized  family  dog  laws.  It  was  Mrs. 
Happy  Waddles' s  day  just  then,  for  was  she  not 
the  mother  of  the  twins  ? 

It  was  to  her  apartments  in  the  big  kennel  once 
owned  by  Lumberlegs  that  visitors  went  and  gave 
ohs  and  ahs  of  admiration.  Her  ladyship  had  new 
milk  and  all  the  tidbits,  and  did  not  have  to  sub 
mit  to  a  bath  for  several  weeks  lest  she  should 
be  chilled. 

Waddles  was  polite  but  bored  ;  he  spent  a  great 
deal  of  time  under  the  flap  of  the  cellar  door  where 
he  could  keep  an  eye  on  his  home  from  a  distance. 
He  also  did  a  great  deal  of  thinking  in  these 
days. 

There  are  people  who  say  that  dogs  have  no 
family  life,  but  that  is  either  because  these  people 
do  not  really  know  dogs  or  have  only  seen  them 
reared  in  great  kennels,  for  kennel  dogs  are  as  dif 
ferent  in  their  instincts  and  feelings  from  home 
dogs  as  orphan-asylum  children  are  from  home- 
cuddled  babies. 

Though  Waddles  kept  rather  aloof  from  his 
family,  what  else  could  he  do  ?  As  they  were  not 


JACK   AND   JILL    WADDLES  107 

living  in  a  state  of  wild  nature  it  was  not  neces 
sary  for  him  to  hunt  food  for  them. 

If  he  asked  Happy  to  take  a  walk,  she  would 
give  him  her  usual  little  caress  on  the  nose  and 
trot  beside  him  as  far  as  the  gate  perhaps,  then 
suddenly  turn  as  if  she  had  forgotten  something, 
drop  her  body  after  a  way  she  had  when  she  put 
on  speed,  and  dash  back  to  her  house  as  if  it  was 
the  burrow  of  a  rabbit  whose  fresh  trail  she  had 
crossed. 

Once  or  twice  Waddles  had  gone  into  the  nurs 
ery  kennel  and  sniffed  at  the  pups  in  an  inquisi 
tive  sort  of  way,  but  Happy  immediately  nosed 
herself  between  them  and  their  father,  as  much  as 
to  say,  "  Please  be  careful,  men  are  so  awkward," 
when  he  quickly  retired  under  the  cellar  door,  to 
his  watch  tower  on  the  porch  corner,  or  to  his 
bachelor  kennel,  the  third  and  smallest  house  of 
the  group.  This  he  had  always  used  as  a  retreat 
from  sun  and  rain,  or  when  he  was  too  muddy 
from  hunting  to  make  him  welcome  in  the  house, 
only  being  chained  there  as  a  punishment  or  in 
emergencies. 

When  Jack  and  Jill  were  three  weeks  old,  and 
might  fairly  be  said  to  be  on  their  legs,  they  were 
as  pretty  a  pair  of  beagles  as  one  could  wish  to 
see.  Equally  mated  in  size,  build,  and  general 


108  DOGTOWN 

colouring,  Jack,  however,  having  the  longer  ears 
and  rich  brown  head  markings  ;  yet  in  temper 
and  general  behaviour  they  were  as  different  from 
one  another  as  any  two  dogs  could  be. 

Jack  was  affectionate  and  sedate,  with  a  patient 
expression  in  his  steel-blue  eyes  that  one  day 
would,  doubtless,  be  deep  brown  like  his  father's. 
Jill  was  impetuous,  which  often  passes  for  affec 
tion,  capricious  as  April  sunshine,  with  an  expres 
sion  of  pretty  impertinence  upon  her  face.  She 
had  dark  lashes  and  a  rim  of  dark  brown  around 
the  edges  of  her  eyelids  which  gave  her  a  look  of 
mingled  wisdom,  slyness,  and  determination  to 
have  her  own  way,  that  was  at  first  captivating. 

Happy  was  a  model  mother,  and  as  soon  as  the 
pups  had  their  breakfast  she  gave  each  a  bath  from 
head  to  foot,  or  rather  tail  tip,  with  much  effort 
and  many  grunts. 

These  were  the  first  puppies  that  Anne  had  ever 
been  with  so  intimately  that  she  could  watch  their 
growth  from  day  to  day,  and  it  seemed  as  if  she 
did  little  else  but  watch  them  when  she  was  out 
of  school ;  in  addition  she  had  all  that  she  could 
manage  in  keeping  Tommy  from  carrying  them 
about,  to  the  destruction  of  their  digestions  and 
the  straining  of  their  backs. 

All  Anne's  persuasion,  however,  did  not  have 


JACK  AND  JILL    WADDLES  109 

as  much  effect  as  the  peremptory  bark  and  nip  in 
the  ankle  that  Happy  administered  one  morning, 
when  she  surprised  Tommy  in  waking  the  twins 
from  their  nap  that  he  might  take  them  to  ride  in 
his  wheelbarrow,  for  Happy,  usually  so  meek,  was 
at  that  time  a  despot  whom  no  one  on  the  premises 
thought  of  disobeying,  with  the  exception  of  her 
daughter. 

It  was  very  easy  for  Happy  to  give  Jack  his 
bath,  but  with  Jill  her  patience  was  sorely  tried. 
When  it  was  time  to  do  her  back  she  would 
roll  over  and  kick  her  legs  in  the  air,  chew  her 
mother's  ear,  or  make  a  tug-of-war  rope  of  her 
tail.  Then,  when  the  bath  was  completed  all  but 
her  fat  little  stomach,  she  would  grind  it  into  the 
dirt  and  brace  her  paws,  until  her  mother,  quite 
out  of  patience,  with  a  twist  of  one  paw  would  lay 
Jill  on  her  back  with  a  growled  rebuke  and  a  curi 
ous  threatening  expression  of  face  which  she  made 
by  turning  back  her  upper  lip  from  her  teeth,  as 
both  fighting  dogs  and  wolves  do  when  freeing 
their  jaws  to  bite. 

At  three  weeks  old  Jill  had  developed  a  shrill 
bark  full  ten  days  in  advance  of  her  brother.  At 
four  weeks  she  succeeded  both  in  catching  her 
own  tail  and  in  washing  some  mud  from  her  hind 
paw  very  neatly. 


110  DOGTOWN 

When  Jack  attempted  to  do  the  same  he  only 
tumbled  backward  out  of  the  nursery  door  into 
the  water  dish,  aided  by  a  push  from  his  sister, 
who  then  rolled  frantically  about  the  floor  in  glee, 
while  his  mother  roused  from  her  one-eye-open 
doze  and  seized  the  opportunity  to  give  him  an 
extra  bath. 

When  the  twins  were  six  weeks  old  Happy 
began  their  education  in  earnest.  Kennel  puppies 
are  usually  weaned  about  this  time  and  are  sepa 
rated  from  their  mother,  so  that  instead  of  being 
trained  by  her  to  act  and  think  for  themselves, 
they  only  learn,  often  through  punishment,  blind 
obedience  to  rules  they  do  not  understand.  Of 
course  this  sort  of  puppyhood  does  not  make  as 
clever  a  dog  as  the  other. 

Waddles  himself  was  an  example  of  early  train 
ing  by  his  mother,  who,  being  a  poor  widow  with 
a  large  family  and  owned  by  a  very  unsuccessful 
truck  farmer,  had  great  difficulty  in  making  both 
ends  meet ;  consequently  Waddles  and  his  brothers 
and  sisters  were  taught  very  early  to  shift  for 
themselves. 

It  was  owing  to  his  patient  cleverness  in  catch 
ing  a  small  squirrel  by  the  roadside  that  Waddles, 
when  only  four  months  old,  had  attracted  the 
attention  of  Anne's  father,  who  bought  him  from 


JACK  AND   JILL   WADDLES  111 

his  owner  for  five  dollars.  As  Anne  once  said,  it 
seemed  strange  that  five  dollars  could  buy  so  much 
when  often  one  got  so  little  for  it ;  and  then  as  she 
grew  to  love  him  as  a  friend  she  did  not  like  to 
think  that  he  was  bought  at  all,  for  it  did  not 
seem  right  to  sell  such  as  he  without  his  own 
consent. 

****** 

After  learning  to  be  clean,  the  second  lesson 
that  Happy  taught  the  twins  was  how  to  keep 
cool.  Anne  knew  very  well  that  dogs  do  not  per 
spire  like  people,  but  only  by  the  moisture  that 
drips  from  their  mouths,  so  that  they  need 
plenty  of  cool  water  to  drink  and  shady  places  to 
lie  in  if  they  are  to  be  comfortable  in  hot  weather. 
She  also  knew  that  Waddles  and  Lumberlegs  dug 
themselves  holes  in  the  dirt,  as  she.  thought  to  keep 
off  the  flies ;  but  why  Happy  should  try  to  burrow 
under  the  foundation  of  the  nursery  puzzled  her. 
It  was  not  to  bury  bones,  for  the  chosen  spot  for 
that  was  far  away  from  home. 

To  help  her,  as  well  as  to  see  what  she  would  do, 
Anne  loosened  two  or  three  stones  from  the  foun 
dation  of  the  tool  house  that  stood  next  to  the 
kennel,  much  to  Happy's  delight,  who  then  began 
to  burrow  furiously,  throwing  the  dirt  behind  her 
with  her  strong  front  paws. 


112  DOGTOWN 

All  day  long  she  worked,  while  as  soon  as  the 
dirt  ceased  coming  out  at  the  mouth  of  the  burrow 
Anne  could  hear  it  flying  up  against  the  floor  of 
the  tool  house,  which,  by  the  way,  her  father  also 
used  as  a  dark  room  for  developing  photographs. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  Anne  heard  Happy  whining 
by  the  outside  wall.  She  had  kept  at  work  all  day, 
only  leaving  to  feed  the  pups  who  at  this  time 
varied  their  milk  diet  with  a  dinner  of  puppy  bis 
cuit  soaked  in  weak  soup.  Anne  loosened  a  couple 
of  stones  at  this  side  as  well,  and  in  a  very  few 
minutes  Happy  dug  herself  out  and  circled  about, 
barking  with  every  symptom  of  joy.  But  when 
Anne  was  about  to  replace  the  stones,  the  little 
beagle  thrust  herself  between  her  mistress  and  the 
burrow  in  the  same  way  as  she  had  come  between 
Waddles  and  the  pups,  when  he  came  to  look  at 
them. 

Anne  saw  that  Happy  was  working  out  some 
plan  of  her  own,  so  she  waited  and  the  next  day 
discovered  it. 

In  the  morning  when  she  went  to  look  at  the 
pups  they  were  nowhere  to  be  seen,  the  gate  of 
the  yard  was  closed,  and  for  a  moment  Anne 
feared  they  might  have  been  stolen,  but  baby 
barks  from  under  the  tool  house  reassured  her. 
Going  to  the  outside  opening  of  the  burrow  and 


JACK   AND  JILL   WADDLES  113 

lying  flat  in  the  grass  she  peered  in.  At  first  she 
could  see  nothing,  but  in  a  minute  the  light  from 
between  the  stone  chinks  revealed  Happy  and  the 
twins  stretched  flat  on  their  stomachs  in  the  fresh 
earth,  Mamma  dozing  comfortably,  the  young 
sters  yap-yapping  to  themselves  ;  for  having  a 
deaf  parent  they  were  quite  safe  in  saying  any 
thing  that  they  chose. 

"  It's  a  cool  house,  a  regular  summer  day-nurs 
ery,  the  dear  clever  mother  to  think  of  it !  "  ex 
claimed  Anne  in  delight,  quite  forgetful  of  the  fact 
that  her  own  chin  was  resting  in  the  dirt. 

"  Of  course  if  it's  the  earth  cooling  down  at  night 
that  makes  the  dew  collect,  it  must  cool  their  fat 
little  stomachs  somehow  the  same  way,  and  puppy 
stomachs  always  seem  to  be  boiling  warm.  Here 
we've  been  and  pounded  the  dirt  in  the  kennel 
yard  as  hard  as  rock  to  keep  it  from  being  dug 
up,  just  as  if  digging  was  only  mischief  instead  of 
a  'must  be.'  Of  course  all  dogs  aren't  as  wise 
about  it  as  Happy  and  it  was  rather  mean  of  Lum- 
berlegs  last  summer  to  make  a  cooler  out  of 
mother's  mignonette  bed  when  it  was  in  full 
bloom." 

****** 

It  would  never  do  for  puppies  to  stay  still  all 
day  even  in  so  delightful  a  place  as  their  mother 


114  DOGTOWN 

had  made.  Its  best  use  was  as  a  retreat  after 
exercising,  of  which  they  had  plenty. 

If  their  food  supply  had  been  uncertain,  "  food 
burying  "  would  have  undoubtedly  been  their  next 
lesson,  and  as  it  was,  instinct  whispered  in  Jill's 
beautiful  brown  ears  one  day  when  she  was  eight 
weeks  old,  and  when  Jack  was  being  vigorously 
flead  by  his  mother  she  took  his  portion  of  puppy 
biscuit  and  laid  it,  piece  by  piece,  in  the  deep  hoof 
tracks  of  the  barn  road,  where  a  few  shoves  from 
her  nose  quickly  covered  it. 

Jack,  on  the  other  hand,  did  not  begin  to  bury 
food  until  he  was  fully  ten  weeks  old  and  had 
become  quite  accustomed  to  seeing  his  mother, 
father,  and  sister  perform  the  task.  Even  then 
he  did  not  use  any  judgment  in  the  selection  of  a 
place  or  dig  proper  holes,  but  made  very  conspicu 
ous  mounds  in  the  middle  of  the  walks  where  the 
cache  could  be  seen  by  the  first  passer-by. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Anne  discovered  that 
Happy  had  two  different  ways  of  burying  extra 
food.  Meat  or  bones  she  invariably  put  in  the 
earth,  digging  deep  and  covering  carefully  that 
the  morsel  might  keep  cool  and  not  ripen  too  fast. 
She  usually  chose  soft  spots  in  the  vegetable  gar 
den  for  this.  Often  having  more  food  in  storage 
than  she  needed,  it  stayed  so  long  that  the  Sexton 


JACK   AND  JILL    WADDLES 


115 


Beetles  got  away  with  a  good  deal  of  it,  much  to 
Happy's  surprise  ;  for  as  they  bore  it  to  their  lairs 
underground,  there  was  no  surface  trail  to  tell  her 
keen  nose  whence  it  had  been  carried  or  by  whom. 
If  the  morsel  she  wished  to  hide  was  dog  bis 
cuit,  oatmeal  cake,  or  corn-bread,  Happy  worked 
quite  differently.  After  finding  a  thick  tuft  of 
grass,  she  pushed  the  scrap  well  into  the  centre  of 
it  and  then  pulled  the  grass  blades  together  over 
the  top,  weaving  them  loosely  as  if  her  nose  and 
upper  front  teeth  had  been  a  crochet  needle. 


To  "  watch  out "  was  one  of  the  earliest  lessons 
the  puppies  had  to  learn,  and  as  it  was  taught 
partly  in  the  cool  house  and  partly  on  the  road 
outside  it  afforded  the  children  endless  amuse 
ment.  "  Watching  out "  also  included  taking 


116  DOGTOWN 

notice  of  every  strange  thing  that  was  brought 
to  the  premises,  as  well  as  of  things  neither  new 
nor  strange,  and  thoroughly  investigating  them. 
As  may  be  supposed  many  mishaps  came  of  this 
habit,  as  when  Jack,  sniffing  at  a  basket  containing 
live  lobsters  which  the  fishmonger's  boy  had  left 
on  the  step  while  he  carried  a  parcel  to  the 
kitchen,  carelessly  thrust  his  nose  in  too  far  and 
was  seized  by  a  sturdy  lobster  claw.  There 
was  a  yelp  of  pain,  and  pup  and  lobster  went 
whirling  around  the  big  apple  tree.  The  entire 
household  came  to  the  rescue,  and  Jack  retired  to 
the  cooling  house  wiser  not  only  by  the  experi 
ence  of  a  nipped  nose,  but  a  pinched  tail  as  well. 

It  was  not  the  fault  of  his  mother's  lessons  —  he 
simply  had  not  put  two  and  two  together ;  in  his 
eagerness  to  see  what  the  lobster  was  doing  he 
had  entirely  forgotten  to  "  watch  out "  for  danger. 

In  the  early  morning,  before  the  sun  had  crept 
around  the  apple  tree,  the  twins  usually  sat  on 
either  side  of  the  doorway  to  the  burrow,  with 
their  mother  lying  on  the  grass  near  by.  The  two 
places  were  not  equally  good,  as  from  one  side  the 
entire  length  of  the  path  from  the  gate,  as  well  as 
the  garden  and  stables,  could  be  seen  at  a  glance, 
while  from  the  other  they  could  only  see  one  way 
at  a  time  without  much  neck  twisting. 


JACK   AND   JILL   WADDLES  119 

Jill  nearly  always  managed  to  secure  the  best 
place  and  if  Jack  happened  to  get  there  in  advance 
of  her  she  resorted  to  various  tactics  to  dislodge 
him.  First  she  would  amble  down  the  walk  with 
an  eager  expression  on  her  face,  and  give  a  bark 
or  two  as  if  at  an  intruder.  If  this  did  not  bring 
Jack  out,  she  would  sniff  at  the  ground  and  then 
begin  to  dig  frantically,  giving  the  most  ludicrous 
growls  the  while. 

Jack's  curiosity  usually  overcame  him  at  this 
point,  for  toad  hunting  was  one  of  the  twins' 
favourite  sports,  and  he  was  never  tired  of  digging 
out  a  fat  old  patriarch  with  a  spotted  hide  who 
lived  under  a  stone  by  the  pump,  and  making  him 
hop-hop-hop  until  he  refused  to  budge  another 
step  and  flattened  himself  obstinately  in  the  dirt, 
when  he  was  allowed  to  go  home  and  rest  for  the 
next  day's  excursion,  and,  strange  to  say,  the  toad 
rather  seemed  to  like  the  performance. 

If  both  these  lures  failed,  Jill  would  resort  to 
force  by  sitting  squarely  on  top  of  her  brother. 
Soon  he  would  move  a  little  in  order  to  breathe 
more  freely  or  stretch  his  legs.  As  soon  as  he 
stirred,  Jill  settled  more  heavily  until  she  was 
wedged  between  her  brother  and  the  stone  side 
of  the  burrow,  then  one  determined  push  settled 
the  matter,  and  he  would  roll  over,  look  at  her 


120  DOGTOWN 

ruefully,  stretcli  himself,  and  take  the  second  best 
place. 

Jack  had  a  lovely  disposition  and  never  seemed 
to  suspect  any  one  of  evil  intentions ;  as  often  as 
Jill  played  tricks  upon  him  he  was  always  sur 
prised.  Jill  was  much  more  quick-witted  and  far 
better  able  to  take  care  of  herself,  but  not  half  so 
pleasant  a  companion,  Anne  thought. 

Jack  made  friends  very  slowly  and  dodged  into 
the  burrow  if  a  stranger  came  near  ;  but  when  his 
confidence  was  won,  he  did  not  forget.  Jill  was 
all  airs  and  graces ;  flatteringly  friendly  one  min 
ute  and  a  little  spitfire  the  next. 

Happy  took  care  that  the  pups  should  have 
plenty  of  exercise  to  develop  their  muscles,  and 
when  she  thought  they  had  dozed  long  enough  in 
the  cooling  house,  she  would  get  them  out  and 
incite  them  to  play  by  running  round  in  a  circle, 
keeping  to  the  outside  edge  at  each  round  so  that 
the  course  gradually  widened  until  it  took  in  the 
whole  lawn. 

There  were  boxing  and  wrestling  matches,  also, 
in  which  Jill  again  usually  had  the  advantage,  for 
though  Jack  was  the  heaviest  and  had  the  longest 
reach,  she  was  quick  as  a  flash  and  invariably  lost 
her  temper  and  fought  in  earnest  before  the  finish; 
then  Happy  interfered  and  began  her  endless  task 


JACK  AND  JILL   WADDLES 


121 


of  washing  the  pair  and  crushing  the  fleas  with 
her  searching  front  teeth. 

At  about  four  months  the  twins  began  to  cut 
their  grown-up  teeth.  This  time  was  a  period 
of  disaster,  for  no  one  could  predict  what  they 
would  next  choose  for  teething  purposes. 

One  day  the  barn  was  the  scene  of  action. 
Baldy's  new  rubber  boots,  a  carriage  sponge,  and 
a  horse  blanket  that  hung  low  enough  to  be 
pulled  from  the  rack  were  the  sufferers. 

The  next  week,  after  rolling  very  thoroughly 
on  some  linen  that  was  spread  to  bleach,  they 


122  DOGTOWN 

turned  their  attention  to  what  hung  from  the  line. 
Jill  discovered  that  swinging  to  and  fro  by  fasten 
ing  to  a  pyjama  leg  was  good  sport.  Jack,  trying 
to  imitate  her,  unluckily  chose  for  his  swing  the 
waitress's  best  apron  with  an  embroidered  frill. 
Immediately  there  was  a  tearing  sound,  the  slam 
of  a  door,  and  a  much  grieved  pup  assisted  by  a 
swinging  slap  from  a  wet  towel  disappeared  in 
the  burrow. 

Jill  immediately  scented  danger,  and  dropped 
the  pyjama  leg.  The  tears  she  had  made  were 
not  discovered  until  the  garment  was  ironed,  and 
then  it  was  laid  to  Jack's  account. 

Anne,  meanwhile,  was  obliged  to  make  the 
waitress  a  new  apron,  because  she  had  been  in 
charge  of  the  twins  at  the  time  the  mischief  was 
done,  the  rule  now  being  that  they  must  not 
play  at  large  until  they  had  learned  how  to 
behave.  Anne  had  fully  intended  to  watch  them 
closely,  but  a  strange  bird  song  had  floated  over 
from  the  next  field,  and  with  a  reassuring  look  at 
the  pups  who  were  pursuing  the  poor  patient 
toad,  she  dashed  off  for  only  ten  minutes,  but  that 
was  quite  enough. 

Tommy,  however,  was  the  indirect  cause  of  the 
worst  disaster  of  all,  after  an  interim  of  several 
weeks  when  the  daily  damage  had  been  merely 


JACK  AND  JILL   WADDLES  123 

the  natural  wear  and  tear  of  grass  scratched  up, 
an  occasional  roll  in  a  flower-bed,  or  the  mauling 
of  a  young  chicken. 

This  happened  a  couple  of  months  after  Miss 
Letty's  arrival,  when  the  most  serious  haying  of 
the  season  was  in  progress  and  the  last  loads  of 
long,  firm  timothy  were  to  be  taken  in  that  after 
noon. 

Tommy  took  the  pups  from  their  yard  soon 
after  dinner  and  played  with  them  for  some  time. 
Happy,  who  was  rested  from  her  motherly  cares, 
the  puppies  now  being  weaned  and  quite  inde 
pendent,  had  taken  up  her  old  hunting  trips,  and 
this  afternoon  had  gone  off  with  Waddles,  Mr. 
Wolf,  Colin,  Quick,  and  Tip  after  a  vain  effort  to 
take  the  pups  with  her. 

After  a  while  Tommy,  tired  of  play,  lay  down 
on  the  grass,  and  let  the  pups  crawl  over  him. 
Presently  he  heard  the  rumbling  of  heavy  wheels, 
and  the  great  hay  wagon  carrying  Baldy  and  a 
couple  of  extra  hands  went  out  of  the  barnyard 
the  back  way. 

"  I'm  coming  for  the  last  load  ride,"  called 
Tommy. 

"  You'd  best  be  quick  then ;  this'll  be  it,  and  it'll 
be  a  full  one,  for  Miss  Letty  and  Miss  Jule  and 
Anne  are  all  waiting  up  in  the  lot  to  get  aboard." 


124  DOGTOWN 

"  Wait,  oh,  wait  a  minute  for  me ;  it's  dreffle 
hot  running  so  far,"  wailed  Tommy.  But  Baldy 
did  not  hear  because  the  wagon  creaked  so. 

Tommy  knew  that  he  ought  to  put  up  the 
puppies,  but  they  seemed  to  be  fast  asleep,  the 
wagon  was  already  out  of  sight,  he  must  go  with 
his  sweetheart,  for  it  was  Miss  Letty's  first  ride 
on  a  load  of  hay  —  in  short,  he  turned  and  ran 
after  the  cart  without  looking  back. 


The  children's  father  often  took  photographs  of 
birds  and  flowers  to  illustrate  the  magazine  arti 
cles  and  books  that  he  wrote,  and  that  morning 
he  had  made  a  beautiful  picture  in  the  old  mill 
glen  of  a  wood-duck  just  leaving  its  nest  in  a 
hollow  tree  with  its  young.  It  was  a  very  rare 
picture  indeed,  for  these  birds  nest  in  deep  woods, 
and  he  could  not  have  taken  it  except  that  a 
bright  streak  of  sun  chanced  to  come  through  a 
gap  and  fell  on  the  birds. 

After  dinner  he  had  developed  the  negative 
very  carefully  in  the  dark  house,  and  then  put  it 
to  wash  in  running  water. 

There  was  no  faucet  in  the  dark  house,  but 
there  was  one  at  the  head  of  the  garden  in  a  very 
shady  place,  and  it  was  under  this  faucet  that  the 


JACK   AND  JILL    WADDLES  125 

washing  box  was  always  set.  This  time,  however, 
having  but  one  negative,  it  was  left  in  a  flat  tray. 

The  children  did  not  know  about  this  wonder 
ful  picture,  for  if  they  had  even  Tommy,  anxious 
for  a  ride,  would  not  have  left  the  puppies  to  care 
for  themselves. 

The  twins  awoke  and  finding  everybody  gone, 
set  out  on  a  tour  of  investigation.  If  only  a  squir 
rel  had  scolded,  or  an  apple  fallen  to  attract  them, 
but  no,  on  they  went,  playing  and  scampering 
toward  the  garden.  By  this  time  they  were 
thirsty,  spied  the  running  water,  and  amused 
themselves  for  a  while  by  lapping  it  as  it  flowed. 

Then  Jill  stepped  on  the  edge  of  the  dish  and 
tipped  it  up  and  the  glass  negative  fell  out  on  the 
grass  face  upward.  Sniffing  at  it,  she  found  the 
surface  cool  and  something  sticky  on  it  that  re 
sisted.  Of  course  she  began  to  lick  and  lick  with 
extra  persistency,  stopping  now  and  then  to  cough 
and  spit  out  the  result,  which,  being  gelatine  that 
had  been  washed  in  chemicals,  including  puckery 
alum,  did  not  suit  her  ladyship's  taste. 

A  rapid  step  came  round  the  house  ;  there  was 
an  exclamation  of  dismay,  for  all  that  was  left  of 
the  priceless  duck  picture  was  a  small  sheet  of 
smeared  glass. 


126  DOGTOWN 

When  Tommy  came  home  from  the  hay-field  he 
went  to  bed,  and  it  was  not  because  he  was  tired. 

Anne  pleaded  for  him,  but  it  was  of  no  use.  Her 
father  was  quite  stern,  which  was  a  rare  thing. 

"  It  is  not  the  loss  of  the  picture  alone,  it  was 
because  Tommy  shirked  a  responsibility,  just  as 
you  did  the  other  day.  Only,  as  it  happened,  by 
making  a  new  apron  you  could  undo  your  mis 
chief,  but  Tommy  cannot,  so  he  must  stay  by  him 
self  and  think.  And,  moreover,  if  either  of  you 
forget  again,  the  twins  must  go  and  live  at  the  Hill 
top  Kennels  until  they  also  can  be  held  respon 
sible  for  what  they  do." 

At  this  dire  threat  Anne  had  to  blink  to  keep 
back  her  tears,  and  the  worst  of  it  was  that  Miss 
Jule  and  Miss  Letty  were  coming  to  tea  with 
Hamlet  and  Tip,  also  Mr.  Hugh,  and  it  was  a 
moonlight  night,  and  Anne  and  Tommy  had  ex 
pected  to  walk  part  way  home  with  them. 


Anne  crept  out  to  the  dog  nursery  to  see  that 
all  was  safe  and  give  the  pups  their  supper,  re 
solving  that  if  there  were  more  accidents  it  should 
be  neither  her  fault  nor  Tommy's  ;  she  would 
bear  the  responsibility  for  both. 

Happy  had  come  home  quite  tired  out  and  very 


JACK  AND  JILL   WADDLES 


127 


muddy  after  her  run,  and  with  a  wild  look  in  her 
eyes  that  was  unusual  for  this  staid  parent.  She 
was  lying  on  the  floor  flat  as  a  pancake,  while 
Jack,  as  if  in  return  for  her  care  of  him,  licked 
her  face  gently.  There  was  something  very 
beautiful  in  Jack's  love  for  his  mother;  he  slept 
close  by  her  at  night  and  had  the  most  tender 
way  with  her  ;  and  once,  when  he  was  only  two 
months  old  and  a  strange  dog  came  into  the  gar 
den  and  accidentally  trod  on  Happy's  foot  so  that 
she  cried,  Jack  rushed  out,  ridged  up  his  back 
hair  for  the  very 
first  time  and  flew 
at  the  stranger  in 
real  if  baby  wrath. 

Happy  did  not 
lie  still  long,  but 
paced  up  and 
down  and  sniffed 
eagerly,  Jack 
watching  her  out 
of  the  corner  of 
one  eye. 

"  It's  the  hunt 
ing's  comin'  on 
her,"  said  Baldy, 
looking  over 


128  DOGTOWN 

Anne's  shoulder  as  he  came  up  with  the  milk 
pails.  "She's  larnt  them  pups  most  everythin' 
but  that,  an'  some  fine  night  she'll  get  'em  out, 
no  matter  how  fast  you've  shet  'em,  for  it's  natur. 
When  she's  had  'em  out  a  few  times,  then  like  as 
not  she'll  be  done  with  'em  and  leave  'em  to  shift 
and  take  to  her  own  ways  agin. 

"  Watch  out  when  the  moon's  bright  and  the 
dew's  heavy;  rabbit  hounds  most  allus  begins  that 
time,  for  trailin's  dead  easy,  an'  you'll  hear  even  if 
you  don't  see  nothin'." 

****** 

After  supper  Anne  took  the  twins  out  to  show 
them  to  Mr.  Hugh,  who  was  a  good  judge  of  hunt 
ing  dogs,  and  for  the  first  time  she  noticed  that 
not  only  was  Jack  growing  larger  than  Jill,  whom 
Mr.  Hugh  pronounced  nearly  perfect  in  the  mat 
ter  of  points,  but  that  he  was  of  a  different  shape. 
His  legs  were  longer  and  he  leaped  along  and  did 
not  drop  his  body  when  he  ran,  as  his  mother  and 
father  did,  so  that  the  family  name  of  Waddles 
seemed  inappropriate. 

"  Yes ;  he's  a  trifle  weedy  for  a  beagle  ;  he  is 
really  a  typical  harrier  hound,"  said  Mr.  Hugh. 
"He  gets  that  combination  through  his  grand 
father,  who  was  a  foxhound,  and  one  of  the  truest 
dogs  in  the  country. 


JACK  AND   JILL   WADDLES  129 

"You  see,  Mistress  Anne,  Jack's  grandmother 
was  a  handsome,  wild,  headstrong  young  thing 
like  Jill  here,  and  she  didn't  wait  until  her  family 
arranged  a  match  for  her  with  one  of  her  own 
class,  but  eloped  with  Squire  Hurley's  handsome 
hound,  Meadowlark.  Her  family  would  not  for 
give  her  at  first  or  recognize  her  husband,  and  the 


Jack. 

poor  thing  had  a  sad  time  of  it ;  that  is  why 
your  father  was  able  to  buy  Waddles  for  five  dol 
lars.  But  never  mind,  for  if  Jack  has  his  grand 
father's  long  legs  he'll  make  a  good  runner,  and  I 
think  that  he  has  his  good  temper  and  cleverness 
as  well  —  we  always  take  Meadowlark  out  with 
Leonora  and  Wildbrier  when  we  are  training  the 
young  hounds,  for  he  keeps  them  together  and  we 


130  DOGTOWN 

seldom  lose  one,  and  that  reminds  me,  we  are  go 
ing  out  to-night  for  the  first  time  this  season. 
Later  on,  you  shall  go,  for  on  an  autumn  night 
there's  nothing  like  the  music  of  hounds.  Even 
with  the  mixed  pack  we  have,  one  or  two  from 
half  a  dozen  farms,  every  man  can  recognize  the 
voice  of  his  own  dog. 

"  Where  do  we  go  to-night  ?  Ah,  this  will  be 
merely  baby  work  ;  we  lead  Squire  Burley's  pet 
fox  around  the  brush  lots  for  a  couple  of  miles 
and  then  when  he's  safely  home  and  in  bed,  we 
put  the  youngsters  and  a  couple  of  steady  old 
dogs  on  the  trail ;  then,  when  they  come  back,  we 
give  the  babes  something  good  to  eat  as  a  reward. 

"  Later  we  go  out  in  earnest  and  follow  the  real 
trails  on  foot  to  locate  the  dens  for  the  autumn 
and  winter  clearing.  It's  good  work  ;  foxes  are 
no  joke  to  the  farmers  in  the  back  country." 

"  I'd  love  to  go,  that  is,  sometime  when  you 
aren't  killing  the  foxes.  They  seem  too  much 
like  dogs  to  kill  them.  Don't  you  think  Miss 
Letty  would  like  to  go  ?  I  heard  her  ask  Miss 
Jule  the  other  day  if  she  '  rode  to  hounds  '  in  the 
fall,  and  said  that  she  had  done  it  in  England,  but 
Miss  Jule  said,  'hereabouts  some  people  ride  and 
some  run,  for  we  shoot  our  foxes,  which  is  more 
to  the  point  than  letting  the  dogs  tear  them  to 


JACK  AND  JILL   WADDLES  131 

bits ; '  but  Miss  Letty  thought  she  wouldn't  care 
to  run." 

"No;  nor  ride  far  either,"  said  Mr.  Hugh, 
dryly. 

****** 

Hamlet,  whose  hair  was  now  about  an  inch  long 
and  neatly  trimmed,  was  quite  a  respectable  citi 
zen,  and  from  having  plenty  of  exercise  and  dog 
companionship  he  had  lost  the  nervous  habit  of 
shrieking  when  he  barked.  He  and  Tip  had 
formed  a  fast  friendship  with  just  a  bit  of  jealousy 
to  bind  it,  for  they  both  adored  Miss  Letty,  Miss 
Jule  declaring  that  her  own  nose  was  out  of  joint, 
for  Tip,  who  had  always  slept  on  his  mistress's 
hearth  rug,  had  transferred  himself  to  the  hall  by 
Miss  Letty's  door  where  he  lay  nightly  with  his 
nose  close  to  the  crack  so  as  to  get  in  the  minute 
she  awoke.  Then,  too,  from  being  a  very  indepen 
dent  individual,  who  came  and  went  as  he  pleased, 
under  the  coaxing  of  what  Miss  Jule  called 
"Letty's  squash  talk,"  he  learned  to  fetch  and 
carry  and  sit  up  in  a  queer,  helpless  way,  holding 
her  slipper  in  his  mouth  with  the  most  adoringly 
silly  expression  on  his  face.  He  had  to  prop  him 
self  against  something,  it  is  true,  for  his  hind  legs 
were  not  constructed  for  this  position,  but  his 
intentions  were  of  the  best. 


132  DOGTOWN 

After  supper  the  family  at  Happy  Hall  laughed 
until  they  were  weak  at  his  efforts,  while  poor 
Tommy,  hearing  the  echo  of  their  merriment, 
sobbed  bitterly  all  alone  in  his  little  white  bed. 
Anne  had  not  forgotten  him  and  instead  of  taking 
the  moonlight  walk  that  she  so  loved,  with  her 
father  and  mother,  part  way  home  with  the 
guests,  she  called  Waddles  and  slipped  away  up 
stairs  to  comfort  Tommy,  and  tell  him  the  news 
that  Miss  Letty  had  a  new  sailor  hat  and  a  plain 
white  gown  with  no  lace  upon  it  that  did  not  trail 
in  the  dirt,  and  yet  that  she  looked  even  prettier 
in  it  than  in  her  "  flower  lady "  dresses.  Also 
that  she  had  put  the  cookies  on  his  supper  tray 
herself,  and  told  Anne  to  take  him  a  kiss  and 
tell  him  that  sometimes  very  big  men  forgot 
things  that  they  ought  to  have  done  and  did 
things  they  should  be  sorry  for,  and  that  Mr. 
Hugh  got  very  red  in  the  face  when  she  sent  this 
message. 

Then  Tommy  stopped  sobbing,  took  interest  in 
his  untouched  supper,  eating  it  cookie  end  first, 
while  at  that  moment  the  baying  of  hounds  was 
heard  toward  the  river  woods  and  Waddles,  hur 
rying  downstairs  before  Anne  could  catch  him, 
pushed  open  the  door  and  was  off  in  full  cry. 


JACK   AND  JILL   WADDLES  135 

Anne  must  have  been  asleep  some  hours,  though 
it  only  seemed  a  few  minutes,  when  she  was 
wakened  by  an  unusual  sound  and  sat  up  to 
listen.  The  moonlight  was  streaming  into  the 
room,  and  as  she  waited  the  clock  in  the  hall 
below  chimed  and  struck  two.  Again  the  sound 
came,  the  baying  of  one  loud  dog  voice  and  two 
little  bays.  Anne  drew  aside  the  curtain  by 
her  bed  and  looked  out.  Everything  was  either 
in  white  light  or  black  shadow.  The  cries  came 
nearer,  and  four  animals  sped  across  the  open 
tennis  court.  Anne  could  plainly  see  a  rabbit 
pursued  by  three  dogs. 

"  It's  Happy  and  the  twins ;  she's  teaching 
them  the  hunting  all  of  her  own  accord  when 
Mr.  Hugh  has  to  arrange  it  for  the  kennel  dogs. 
Isn't  it  wonderful  ?  "  said  Anne,  aloud,  presumedly 
to  the  moon  as  there  was  no  one  else  awake. 

"  But  how  did  she  get  the  twins  out,  I  wonder  ? 
It's  one  of  Pinkie  Scott's  tame  rabbits  that  live 
under  her  summer-house  that  they're  after  though, 
and  it's  sure  to  get  back  among  the  stones,  and 
they'll  be  disappointed.  I  must  give  them  some 
thing  to  eat  when  they  come  back  as  a  reward, 
just  as  Mr.  Hugh  does  the  little  foxhounds,"  and 
thrusting  her  feet  into  her  moccasin  slippers  Anne 
stole  lightly  down  the  back  stairs. 


136  DOGTOWN 

How  Happy  got  her  pups  out  was  an  undis 
covered  secret  until  Baldy  found  that  the  cooling 
house  had  a  sort  of  switch-off  burrow  that  led 
backward  under  the  stone  fence,  which  the  faith 
ful  mother  could  only  have  made  with  infinite 
labour. 

Anne  opened  the  kitchen  door  by  the  well  and 
stepped  into  the  moonlight,  plate  in  hand.  The 
baying  and  yelping  had  ceased,  but  she  could  tell 
by  the  swishing  of  grass  and  bushes  that  the  dogs 
were  returning.  Soon  they  came  in  sight  on  the 
garden  side;  the  twins  seemed  tired  and  their 
heads  drooped,  while  their  mother  encouraged 
first  one  and  then  the  other  by  little  licks  and 
caresses.  Of  course  they  were  both  hungry  and 
thirsty,  and  while  the  plate  was  being  licked  a 
window  above  opened  and  Anne's  father  looked 
out  saying,  "  Anne  !  out  in  your  nightgown  feed 
ing  puppies,  or  are  you  walking  in  your  sleep  ?  " 

"  Feeding  the  twins,  father  dear,"  she  called 
softly.  "  You  see  Happy  has  been  teaching  them 
the  hunting  and  as  there  wasn't  any  catching, 
giving  them  supper  is  a  'must  be.'  Mr.  Hugh 
said  so." 

Then  the  Winds  of  Night  whispered  wood  mes 
sages  in  Diana's  ears  and  drew  her  long  hair 
through  their  fingers,  and  little  Oo-oo,  the  screech 


JACK  AND  JILL   WADDLES  137 

owl,  laughed  far  off  in  the  river  woods,  so  that 
long  after  she  was  asleep  the  sounds  turned  into 
dreams. 

As  to  Waddles,  he  stayed  out  all  night  and  was 
discovered  tired  and  muddy  on  the  door-steps  the 
next  morning.  When  he  was  being  brushed, 
Anne  asked  him,  "Why  he  had  not  helped 
Happy  teach  the  pups  ?  "  He  gave  her  a  reproach 
ful  look  that  said:  "  I'm  surprised  at  you,  mistress. 
I  go  with  the  men  dogs;  teaching  pups  the  hunt 
ing  is  woman's  work." 


CHAPTER   VI 

TABLE    BOARDERS 

WHEN  Miss  Letty  had  been  two  months  at  the 
Hilltop  Farm  everybody  had  fallen  in  love  with 
her,  twofoots  and  fourfoots  alike.  That  is, 
everybody  but  Mr.  Hugh  ;  he  was  simply  polite 
and  tolerant,  treating  her  new  enthusiasm  for 
dogs,  horses,  and  outdoor  things  as  merely  the 
whim  of  a  spoiled  child. 

Miss  Letty  had  packed  her  Paris  finery  away 
in  Miss  Jule's  big  garret,  excepting  a  few  pretty 
things  for  evening  wear,  and  went  about  in  white 
duck  skirts  and  dainty  white  shirt  waists,  belts 
and  ties,  for  as  she  said,  "  If  you  are  much 
with  dogs  and  horses,  it  isn't  enough  to  have 
gowns  that  will  wash,  you  must  have  things 
that  are  boilable." 

So  Tommy  changed  her  name  from  Flower  Lady 
to  White  Lady,  and  doubled  his  devotion,  reck 
lessly  buying  three  cookie  cutters  at  the  ten-cent 
store  in  town,  — a  heart,  a  rabbit,  and  a  rooster, — • 

138 


TABLE   BOARDERS  139 

that  his  offerings  of  ginger  cakes  and  jumbles 
coaxed  from  cook  might  not  lack  variety.  The 
heart  and  rooster  cookies  were  sure  to  be  in 
good  condition  when  Miss  Letty  received  them, 
but  the  rabbit  offered  greater  temptation  to 
Tommy  in  transit.  It  was  a  queerly  built  rabbit, 
and  stood  very  high  on  its  legs.  Tommy  dis 
covered  that  if  the  legs  were  nibbled  off  carefully 
and  evenly,  bunny  looked  as  if  he  was  lying  down, 
so  if  the  cookie  was  particularly  crisp,  and  tempta 
tion  overcame  him,  he  soothed  his  scruples  by 
telling  Miss  Letty  that  "  to-day  the  rabbit  is 
tired." 

As  for  Anne,  she  had  found  a  companion  after 
her  own  heart,  for  Miss  Letty  was  as  happy  in 
her  newly  found  freedom  as  a  young  house-bred 
animal  having  its  first  taste  of  liberty.  Anne 
offered  to  give  up  Fox,  but  it  was  not  necessary, 
for  Miss  Letty  could  control  Miss  Jule's  own 
mount  Kate  by  merely  a  pat  on  the  neck,  and 
together  the  two  girls — for  at  this  time  Miss  Letty 
was  as  young  as  Anne — explored  every  wood  path 
in  the  vicinity,  having  an  escort  of  Dogtown 
police  in  the  shape  of  Mr.  Wolf,  Quick,  Tip,  and 
Waddles  to  protect  them,  with  Colin  as  a  sort  of 
clown  to  amuse  them  when  they  rested. 

At  first  Miss  Letty  spoke  in  French  to  Anne, 


140  DOGTOWN 

because  her  mother  asked  it  and  it  was  really  her 
own  tongue,  but  she  soon  stopped,  saying  frankly 
that  it  seemed  as  much  out  of  place  in  New  Eng 
land  wood  and  farm  life  as  her  lace  frills  or  Ham 
let's  long  curls  and  bracelets,  while  Anne's  Indian 
names  for  beasts  and  birds  caught  her  fancy,  and 
Miss  Letty  was  as  quick  as  Anne  in  detecting  an 
unusual  bird  note,  even  though  she  might  not 
know  the  name  of  the  bird. 

In  fact,  she  was  rather  slow  in  learning  to  name 
birds  by  sight,  and  came  galloping  down  so  often 
to  tell  Anne  that  there  were  some  great  strange 
birds  in  the  meadow,  with  green  and  blue  feathers, 
when  they  were  only  crows,  or  perhaps  grackles 
seen  in  the  bright  sun,  that  it  came  to  be  quite  a 
joke.  But  if  she  once  learned  a  bird's  name  from 
hearing  its  song,  she  never  forgot  it. 

It  was  Miss  Letty  also  who  discovered  that  Tip 
and  Colin  had  musical  ears,  and  could  be  made  to 
sing.  Waddles  had  always  been  a  musician  of 
ability,  being  so  sensitive  to  vocal  sounds  that 
Anne  was  obliged  to  shut  him  up  in  the  farthest 
away  barn  if  her  mother  had  a  musical  evening. 

Jolly  piano  music  seemed  to  annoy  him,  and  he 
would  get  up  and  walk  away  of  his  own  accord, 
with  an  injured  air ;  but  if  Anne  in  practising 
chanced  upon  a  minor  scale,  then  from  under 


TABLE   BOARDERS  141 

sofa,  bush,  or  remotest  spot,  where  the  sound 
carried,  Waddles  appeared  tiptoeing  along  with 
tail  erect  and  wonderful  dilating  eyes. 

If  he  happened  to  be  indoors,  he  would  come 
within  two  or  three  feet  of  the  piano ;  if  outside, 
to  the  nearest  door  or  window,  and  sitting  down, 
throw  back  his  head  and  let  the  sound  well  forth, 
high  and  in  key  with  the  scale,  only  dropping  to 
a  throaty  gurgle  when  he  had  to  take  breath. 
On  and  on  he  would  sing  until  the  scale  stopped, 
and  then  he  crept  away  to  seclusion,  as  if  quite 
exhausted,  and  lying  quite  still,  gave  an  occa 
sional  little  bay  that  sounded  like  a  sob. 

This  singing  was  entirely  different  from  the 
baying  and  full  cry  of  hunting  hounds,  and  after 
a  while  Anne  discovered  that  there  were  three 
other  sounds  than  her  minor  scales  that  produced 
it,  —  the  call  of  the  whip-poor-will,  the  quavering  of 
a  screech  owl,  and  a  French  horn  that  one  of  Mr. 
Hugh's  stable  men  played,  which,  in  spite  of  the 
distance,  sounded  quite  clear  and  true  when  the 
windows  were  open  on  summer  nights. 

Tip,  Quick,  and  Colin's  singing  was  of  a  differ 
ent  order,  but  quite  remarkable,  for  setters  and 
spaniels  are  not  credited  with  the  voices  that 
belong  to  all  hounds,  and  when,  during  one  of 
their  lessons,  as  Miss  Letty,  with  finger  raised, 


142  DOGTOWN 

whistled  the  tune  that  started  them,  Mr.  Wolf's 
sombre,  deep-barking  St.  Bernard  voice  suddenly 
joined,  counteracting  the  fox  terrier's  double  high  c. 
The  effect  was  astounding.  Mr.  Hugh,  who  was 
riding  up  the  wood  road,  stopped  short  in  sheer 
amazement,  muttering  to  himself,  "  It's  odd  that 
such  a  little  butterfly  creature  should  have  so 
much  influence  with  dogs."  Then,  as  the  lesson 
ended,  and  Quick,  having  scented  him,  came  bound 
ing  across  the  lawn,  showing  that  he  had  a  paper 
frill  round  his  neck  and  a  small  red  cigar 
ribbon  bow  on  his  tail,  he  said  something  about 
"more  circus  tricks,"  and  gave  his  horse  a  quite 
unnecessary  cut  with  his  whip  and  galloped  away, 
Quick  following  much  to  his  chagrin.  If  he  had 
looked  back  he  would  have  seen  Miss  Jule  stand 
ing  at  the  road  edge  laughing  until  the  tears  ran 
down  her  cheeks,  while  Miss  Letty  danced  along 
the  piazza  holding  Hamlet's  paws,  saying :  "  We've 
shocked  the  Great  Bear  again.  I  wonder  what 
he  will  say  when  he  sees  you  ride  Fox,  all  dressed 
in  your  red  jacket." 

Miss  Letty  had  taken  great  pains  to  keep  out  of 
Mr.  Hugh's  way  ever  since  the  day  that  she  first 
met  him,  when  she  heard  him  tell  Tommy  that  he 
did  not  care  for  people  who  were  "  not  useful "  ; 
and  she  never  spoke  of  him  except  as  the  Gjeat 


TABLE   BOARDERS  143 

Bear,  giving  her  aunt  as  her  reason  for  the  name, 
that  when  she  looked  out  of  her  window  at  night 
at  the  stars,  the  constellation  of  the  Great  Bear 
(which  is  commonly  called  the  Dipper)  pointed  its 
tail  straight  at  Mr.  Hugh's  house. 


Everything  had  been  quiet  in  Dogtown  for  some 
time.  To  the  twins  the  novelty  of  the  first  hunt 
ing  trips  was  wearing  off,  and  Happy  was  resum 
ing  her  usual  habits, — going  to  walk  with  Anne  and 
Waddles,  sunning  herself  by  the  lilac  bushes,  and 
going  nightly  for  the  cows  with  Baldy.  Now  she 
had  also  her  devoted  son  and  servitor  for  a  com 
panion,  Jill  only  going  by  fits  and  starts  as  suited 
her. 

Monotony,  however,  is  against  the  laws  of  Dog- 
town,  and  to  prevent  such  a  state  of  things,  for 
nobody  could  see  any  other  reason,  one  fine  morn 
ing  Miss  Jill  ran  away. 

At  least  Anne  insisted  that  this  was  the  case, 
though  she  could  not  prove  it,  arid  all  that  was 
really  known  was  that  when  Baldy  came  for  the 
milking  pails  at  6  A.M.,  he  let  Happy  and  the 
pups  out  of  the  nursery  kennel ;  and  that  two 
hours  later,  when  Anne  went  to  feed  them, 
Happy  and  Jack  were  waiting  for  her,  but  Jill 


144  DOGTOWN 

was  nowhere  to  be  found.  Moreover,  when  Anne 
whistled  to  Jack  and  said :  "  Where's  Jill  ?  Find 
Jill !  "  instead  of  running  about  and  giving  funny 
shrill  barks  as  usual  until  she  answered,  he  paid 
no  attention  whatever. 

Tommy  suggested  dolefully  that  the  train  might 
have  killed  her  the  same  as  it  had  Lily,  but  a  care 
ful  search  proved  the  contrary.  Anne's  father 
was  inclined  to  believe  that  she  had  been  stolen 
by  some  one  going  to  the  market  town  with  a  milk 
or  vegetable  wagon,  as  many  such  passed  by,  and 
Jill  had  always  made  friends  rather  too  easily. 
Miss  Jule  scoffed  at  this,  saying  that  the  people 
about  were  all  too  fond  of  dogs  to  allow  such  a 
theft  to  pass  unpunished,  and  had  followed  up  all 
dog  stealing  so  swiftly  that  it  had  become  almost 
an  unknown  crime. 

Nevertheless,  Miss  Jule  called  up  the  sheriff, 
who  was  a  lover  of  animals,  and  if  he  once  saw 
a  dog  could  recognize  it  again  anywhere,  and 
sent  him  scouring  the  countryside  over,  with  no 
result,  for  Jill  had  vanished  as  completely  as  if 
she  had  taken  wing. 

"  Of  course  I'm  sorry,"  said  Anne,  rather  doubt 
fully  to  Miss  Letty,  who  came  down  to  offer  sym 
pathy;  "but  it  isn't  as  if  Waddles,  or  even  Jack, 
had  gone.  It  is  horrid  to  lose  anything,  and  not 


TABLE   BOARDERS  145 

to  know  what  has  become  of  poor  Jill,  for  she  may 
be  hurt  and  lying  somewhere  sick  and  hungry,  yet 
somehow  I  think  that  she  didn't  care  much  for  us, 
and  that  she  has  been  planning  to  run  away  for 
some  time." 

Miss  Letty  laughed  at  the  notion,  but  Anne 
could  not  be  shaken  in  her  belief,  and  as  there 
was  nothing  to  do  but  wait,  she  waited.  Mean 
time  Happy  Hall  was  quite  a  tranquil  place,  that 
is,  on  the  rare  days  when  neither  Hamlet,  Mr. 
Wolf,  Quick,  nor  Tip  came  to  visit  Waddles,  or 
Schnapps  and  Friday  did  not  come  to  drink  in  the 
cow  pond  and  meet  Pinkie  Scott's  fox  terriers  and 
Hans  Sachs  the  dachshund  on  the  war-path  for 
rats  behind  the  barn,  Pinkie's  house  being  just 
above.  When  this  happened,  hard  words  were 
exchanged,  for  though  Schnapps  and  Hans  Sachs 
had  been  litter  brothers,  they  were  now  in  deadly 
feud,  and  of  course  Friday  stood  up  for  his  chum. 


The  summer  of  this  particular  season  that  the 
children  always  remembered  afterward  as  "the 
year  when  Miss  Letty  came,"  was  very  warm 
indeed,  and  Anne  established  a  midday  retreat  in 
her  beloved  old  apple  tree,  or  rather  two  retreats. 
One  was  high  up  in  the  broad  branches  where  you 


146  DOGTOWN 

could  look  down  into  various  birds'  nests.  A  few 
slats,  placed  long  ago  by  Obi,  the  garden  boy,  had 
been  added  to  by  Baldy,  so  that  the  perch  had 
places  for  three.  The  other  was  a  sort  of  house 
below,  furnished  with  chairs,  a  table,  and  ham 
mocks.  This  gave  shelter  above  and  below  even  in 
rainy  weather,  and  from  it  in  different  directions 
the  lawn,  garden,  shrubbery,  kennels,  and  distant 
hills  could  be  seen  with  all  their  inhabitants  of 
flowers,  butterflies,  birds,  and  fourfooted  animals. 

Anne  called  this  place  the  "  time  eater,"  because, 
as  she  said,  "you  go  there  to  stay  a  minute,  or 
you  sit  down  to  read,  but  you  don't  come  away 
and  you  don't  read;  you  simply  look  and  listen, 
and  before  you  know  it  is  dinner  time,  and  the 
morning  is  all  eaten  up." 

The  things  that  Anne  and  Tommy  heard  there 
as  they  spent  their  vacation  time  together  were 
Heart  of  Nature's  own  stories,  and  it  was  his  own 
voice  that  told  them. 

It  was  also  a  good  point  of  vantage  from  which 
to  watch  the  play  of  the  dogs,  and  Anne  discovered 
one  thing  beyond  question,  that  where  dogs  live 
and  are  fed  there  the  birds  gather.  In  fact,  dur 
ing  the  nesting  season  that  year  the  doings  of  the 
birds  and  little  beasts  that  fed  from  the  dogs'  table 
would  fill  a  whole  book. 


Anne  and  Tommy. 


TABLE   BOARDERS  149 

At  the  north  of  the  nursery  kennel  was  a  broad- 
topped  stone  fence.  Being  convenient  and  of 
exactly  the  right  height,  Anne  used  a  wide  hollow 
stone  as  a  mortar  for  pounding  the  dog  biscuit, 
taking  a  narrow  stone  for  a  pestle,  for  the  Wad 
dles  family  all  preferred  drinking  their  milk  or 
soup,  and  having  the  biscuit  in  bits  the  size  of 
small  lumps  of  sugar  so  that  it  could  be  gnawed 
like  a  bone,  to  having  it  soaked  into  pulpy  stew. 
Of  course  there  was  cracker  dust  left  in  the  mor 
tar,  and  little  bits  would  fly  about  here  and  there. 
But  no  matter  how  much  dust  was  left  at  evening, 
the  next  morning  found  this  place  as  clean  as  if  it 
had  been  scrubbed,  so  Anne  began  to  watch. 

There  was  a  pair  of  song-sparrows  that  had 
their  second  nest  in  a  great  rose-bush  by  the 
walk,  and  though  the  parents  gave  their  nest 
lings  only  insect  food,  they  fed  upon  the  biscuit 
crumbs.  These  two  soon  grew  so  tame  that 
when  they  had  cleaned  the  wall  they  hopped 
about  the  dog  houses  and  helped  themselves 
from  the  dishes,  giving  shy  little  flutters  if  the 
twins  barked  at  them,  but  only  going  a  few 
feet  and  returning  very  quickly. 

Then  there  were  the  chipping  sparrows,  the 
dear  little  brown  velvet-capped  birds,  who  are  so 
tame  that  the  Latin  word  for  sociable  is  part  of  the 


150  DOGTOWN 

name  the  wise  men  give  them.  They  actually 
hopped  on  Waddles's  back  and  almost  caught  the 
moist  bits  that  fell  from  his  jaws. 

The  goldfinches  came  also,  beginning  in  early 
spring  when  the  males  and  females  wear  the  same 
clothes  of  dull  olive-brown  and  black,  and  making 
daily  visits  all  through  the  season  until  the  males 
after  wearing  a  mottled  costume  put  on  their 
yellow  wedding  coats  and  black  caps,  and  put 
them  off  again. 

Black  and  white  nuthatches  took  their  dog  food 
differently,  picking  up  the  larger  bits  and  carry 
ing  them  into  the  apple  tree,  where  they  ham 
mered  them  to  pieces  exactly  as  they  would  crack 
beechnuts  or  corn  kernels. 

Anne  was  not  surprised  that  birds  like  these 
should  feed  on  dog  biscuit,  but  when  catbirds, 
robins,  and  phoebes — the  air-living  flycatchers  — 
began  to  be  the  regular  table  boarders  of  the 
Waddles  family,  she  began  to  wonder.  These  last 
birds  were  of  course  first  attracted  by  the  kettle  of 
cooked  meat  scraps  that  was  often  hung  in  the 
tree  to  cool ;  but  lacking  meat,  they  were  satisfied 
with  the  crumbs. 

One  morning  a  lame-winged  crow  appeared 
from  the  wood  edge  and  walked  solemnly  up  to 
the  dish  where  Jack  and  Jill  were  eating,  giving 


TABLE   BOARDERS  151 

a  squawk  that  sent  them  in  haste  to  the  nursery, 
though  Jill  soon  came  back  and  attempted  to 
flirt  with  his  crowship,  which  so  surprised  him 
that  he  nearly  choked  to  death  by  swallowing  too 
quickly.  This  ended  in  Baldy's  catching  the 
crow,  who  was  not  a  welcome  garden  guest,  as 
was  proved  by  the  chorus  of  alarm  notes  that 
arose  at  his  appearance,  and  he  actually  had  the 
destruction  of  many  orchard  homes  written 
against  him  in  the  Birdland  records. 

One  morning  Bobwhite,  who  had  been  whistling 
and  telling  his  name  proudly  from  the  protected 
meadows  all  the  spring,  appeared  on  the  fence. 
Anne  held  her  breath  and  Tommy  watched,  round 
eyed  with  eagerness.  Bob  threw  back  his  head 
and  proclaimed  his  name  proudly  ;  then  no  one 
disputing  him  he  called  more  plaintively,  poor-bob- 
white  !  dropped  from  the  wall  to  the  grass,  and 
then  walked  along  the  gravel  path  as  unconcern 
edly  as  any  barnyard  fowl.  Coming  to  where  the 
pups  had  upset  their  dish,  he  gave  a  few  scratches 
and  began  to  pick  up  the  smallest  bits  as  if  he 
was  gleaning  grain  in  the  stubble. 

At  this  moment  Mrs.  Waddles  coining  round 
the  house  corner  flushed  Bob,  and  he  rose  with  the 
whirring  of  wings  that  is  one  of  the  eery  sounds 
of  the  autumn  lanes  every  year  before  grouse, 


152  DOGTOWN 

quail,  and  woodcock  have  grown  too  gun  sliy, 
and,  going  over  the  garden  house,  disappeared  in 
the  long  grass.  But  he  came  again  and  took 
home  a  report  of  the  good  eating,  for  one  summer 
morning  a  little  after  dawn,  when  Anne  was  sit 
ting  on  the  foot  of  her  bed  and  looking  out  of  her 
window,  she  saw  what  she  at  first  took  to  be 
Tommy's  banty  hen  leading  a  large  brood  of 
chicks  down  the  garden  path.  Rubbing  her 
sleepy  eyes,  she  leaned  out  of  the  window  and 
saw  that  they  were  not  the  bantams,  but  Mamma 
Quail  and  the  children  out  for  a  breakfast  walk. 

Anne  hurried  down  as  quickly  as  she  could,  but 
Waddles  cheered  so  loudly,  thinking  that  she  was 
also  going  for  a  walk,  that  the  party  disappeared  in 
the  quince  bushes  before  she  could  steal  up  to 
them.  It  had  rained  in  the  night,  and  their 
chicken-like  footprints  in  the  fine  moist  gravel 
by  the  empty  dog  dishes  told  her  that  they  had 
breakfasted  there. 

In  autumn  the  jays  always  came  slyly  to  the 
oaks  and  beeches  at  Happy  Hall  and  carried  away 
nuts  and  acorns  for  winter  use,  storing  some  in 
a  hollow  chestnut  in  the  pasture,  and  others  under 
the  shingles  of  the  old  cow  barn. 

When  the  resting  season  came,  however,  they 
usually  stole  away  to  the  pine  woods  across  the 


TABLE   BOARDERS  153 

river,  as  Anne's  father  did  not  encourage  them 
about  the  garden;  for  whether  or  not  they  are 
always  unneighbourly  egg  thieves,  it  is  certain 
they  carry  terror  to  the  gentler  hearts  of  Bird- 
land,  and  at  Happy  Hall  nothing  might  stay 
that  could  annoy  the  wood  thrushes  and  brown 
thrashers  that  returned  season  after  season. 

What  was  Anne's  surprise  then  one  June  morn 
ing,  to  see  in  the  orchard  unmistakable  flashes  of 
"  jay  blue,"  which  is  a  colour  by  itself,  and  not  to 
be  mistaken  by  the  owner  of  the  Magic  Spectacles 
for  the  colour  of  either  bluebird,  indigo-bird,  king 
fisher,  or  heron.  Next  she  heard  the  jay's  bell 
note,  not  the  harsh  jeering  "  jay  -jay"  of  alarm, 
but  the  spring  call,  like  the  striking  together  of 
well-tempered  bits  of  metal.  Then  came  a  chorus 
of  alarm  cries  from  all  the  birds  of  the  neighbour 
hood,  and  a  commotion  in  the  trees  over  the 
garden  house. 

As  Anne  was  going  out  to  see  what  was  the 
matter,  a  flash  of  blue  crossed  the  sunlight  and 
landed  on  the  walk,  and  there  was  Tchin-dees 
the  blue  jay  himself,  in  flawless  bravery  of 
feathers. 

He  put  his  head  on  one  side  and  peered  here 
and  there  saucily,  as  much  as  to  say :  "  Where  is 
your  old  dog  bread,  anyway  ?  Stingy  this  morning, 


154 


DOGTOWN 


aren't  you  ?     Yes,  I've  been  here  before,  you  can't 
fool  me.     I  know  it's  after  breakfast  time." 

The  dog  dishes  were  not  in  sight,  and  there  ap 
peared  to  be  no  scraps  upon  the  ground,  but  Tchin- 

dees  was  not 
daunted.  In 
the  nursery 
kennel  slept 
Jack  and  Jill, 
stretched  out 
as  flat  as  if 
they  were 
cookie  dogs. 
Their  food 
dish  stood  by 
the  doorway, 
well  inside. 
It  was  full, 
for  they 
had  not  yet 
breakfasted. 

Tchin-dees  spied  it,  took  a  survey  of  the  situa 
tion,  hopped  into  the  dish,  and  began  to  stir  up 
the  bits  with  his  feet  in  order  to  more  easily 
choose  the  smallest. 

He  gave  a  start  and  flutter  when  he  spied 
Anne,  but  making  up  his  mind  that  a  meal  in 


TABLE   BOAKDERS  155 

the  stomach  is  worth  several  in  the  dish,  returned 
to  the  charge,  finally  carrying  an  obstinate  frag 
ment  to  the  stone  wall  where  he  beat  it  with  his 
bill,  keeping  one  eye  on  Anne  meanwhile,  and 
making  a  face  at  her  she  avers,  as  he  flew  away. 

When  Anne  told  Miss  Jule  about  the  "table 
boarders,"  she  laughed  and  said,  "What  have  I 
always  told  you  should  be  painted  on  boards  and 
posted  in  every  country  town  like  the  4  keep-off- 
the-grass '  signs  in  parks  ?  "  Anne  remembered 
that  it  was, — 

"  If  you  hate  birds,  keep  cats. 
If  you  love  birds,  keep  dogs." 

Truly,  who  can  say  that  they  have  seen  wild 

birds   feeding    from  a  cat's  dish  when  its  owner 

was  at  home,  or  pulling  out  pussy's  fur  for  a 
nest  lining. 


Among  the  f ourfoots  who  shared  the  hospitality 
of  the  Waddles  family  table  were  coons,  skunks, 
weasels,  red  and  gray  squirrels,  chipmunks,  and 
the  various  gnawers  of  meadow,  wood,  and  wall, 
the  least  of  these  being  the  tawny-backed  white- 
footed  mice  and  tiny  field  mice,  scarcely  bigger 
than  bumblebees. 


156  DOGTOWN 

There  were  few  mornings  that  stories  of  one  or 
more  of  these  animals  might  not  be  read  by  the 
keen-eyed  on  or  about  the  stone  wall,  or  on  near-by 
tree  trunks,  in  footprints  on  the  ground  or  damp 
stones,  or  by  claw  marks  on  bark,  etc.  As  to  the 
field  mice,  they  made  the  wall  their  turnpike  to 
which  the  various  nooks  between  the  stones  were 
cross-roads,  and  all  day  long  they  came  and 
feasted  daintily  upon  the  crumbs,  sitting  up  and 
cleaning  their  whiskers  and  paws  after  each  meal. 

Of  late  Anne  had  found  many  "  owl  balls " 
about  the  wall  and  under  the  pine  trees,  but  never 
an  owl  could  she  see  ;  for  though  a  few  came  about 
every  winter,  they  generally  went  early  to  the 
deep  woods,  where  they  kept  company  with  the 
jays.  These  balls,  which,  as  the  snow  owl  once 
told  Tommy-Anne  at  his  Xmas  party,  were 
the  pieces  of  the  things  they  ate  but  could  not 
digest,  and  so  rolled  into  little  balls  and  spit  out, 
seemed  to  be  all  made  of  the  fur  and  bones  of  field 
mice ;  so  really,  as  Anne  told  Tommy  when  they 
discovered  them,  "  the  Owls  were  the  Waddles's 
table  boarders  also,  only  in  a  sort  of  second-hand 
way  because,  you  see,  the  mice  eat  the  dog  food, 
and  then  the  owls  wait  until  they  are  through  and 
eat  the  mice. 

But  where  did  the  owls  hide  ?     Anne  thought 


TABLE   BOARDERS  157 

that  she  knew  every  nook  and  cranny  where  they 
could  nest,  and  Tommy  usually  managed  to  wrig 
gle  himself  into  the  places  she  could  not  reach. 

One  night  there  was  a  commotion  in  the  or 
chard  ;  the  evening  song  broke  up  early,  and  birds 
darted  to  and  fro,  giving  alarm  cries.  Happy 
and  Jack  started  off  together  and  in  a  moment 
Waddles  followed,  but  instead  of  crying  and  go 
ing  nose  to  the  ground,  they  sniffed  the  air  and 
were  silent,  tiptoeing  about  among  the  ferns  that 
grew  under  the  pine  trees. 

After  Tommy  had  gone  to  bed  Anne  heard  a 
strange  quavering  noise  close  to  the  house.  It 
was  pale  moonlight,  and  stepping  out  Anne  found 
that  her  father  was  walking  down  the  wild  path 
toward  the  orchard,  so  she  joined  him.  As  she 
was  telling  about  the  unusual  sound,  it  came  again 
quite  close.  It  was  a  sort  of  crooning,  ending  in 
"  shay-shay-shay,"  as  if  dried  peas  were  sharply 
shaken  in  a  sieve.  A  moment  later  a  dark  object 
flapped  across,  brushing  Anne's  face. 

"  A  screech-owl,"  whispered  her  father.  "  Keep 
still  a  moment  and  I  will  see  if  I  can  call  it."  He 
imitated  the  sound  perfectly  and  again  the  bird 
swooped  directly  across  his  face,  snapping  its  beak, 
while  a  second  owl  appeared  a  little  farther  on 
and  began  the  same  tactics  with  Anne. 


158 


DOGTOWN 


Anne  tried  to 
call  and  was  so 
successful  that 
she  soon  had  to 
put  her  arms 
above  her  head 
to  protect  her 
face,  the  birds 
grew  so  bold. 

"They  must 
have  a  nest  near 
by,"  said  her 
father;  "they 
are  teaching  the 
young  to  fly, 
and  we  are  in 
terrupting  their 
signalling. " 

"Look,  do 
look  !  "  whis 
pered  Anne. 
"Oh,  the  dear 
little  fluffy  thing,  it's  cuter  than  a  kitten  or 
a  puppy,"  and  there  among  the  pine  branches 
in  the  moon  path,  directly  on  a  line  with  her 
nose,  perched  a  baby  screech-owl,  its  little  slant 
wise  eyes  tightly  closed. 


TABLE   BOARDERS  159 

Anne  put  up  her  hand  to  take  it,  but  a  screech 
owl,  like  a  weasel  asleep,  is  a  deceptive  thing. 
Six  claws  fastened  themselves  in  her  flesh,  —  claws 
barbed  like  fishhooks  and  of  surprising  strength. 
She  tried  to  drop  the  baby,  but  it  wouldn't  let  go, 
and  her  father  had  to  pry  its  grip  off  with  a  stick  ; 
but  the  pain  was  soon  forgotten  by  the  sight  of 
another  owl  farther  up,  and  then  another,  until 
they  had  counted  six  of  the  fuzzy  balls  in  addition 
to  the  parents. 

Anne,  with  her  handkerchief  tied  about  her 
hand,  protested  that  it  did  not  pain  her,  and  so 
the  pair  stayed  for  an  hour,  and  watched  the  play 
which  consisted  of  signalling,  flying,  and  then 
the  feeding  of  the  young  birds  as  if  by  way  of 
reward. 

Presently  Waddles,  Happy,  and  Jack  came  back, 
following  each  other  in  a  straight  line  through 
the  orchard  and  across  the  wall.  As  they  turned 
into  the  wild  walk,  Mamma  Owl,  at  least  it  was 
reasonable  to  suppose  it  was  she,  as  the  females 
are  the  most  alert  when  the  young  are  flying, 
swooped  at  Waddles  who  was  in  the  lead,  flapped 
him  in  the  face  with  a  heavy  wing,  and  gave  an 
unearthly  screech  not  a  foot  from  his  sensitive  ears. 

For  once  Waddles  was  daunted  and  sat  down 
suddenly.  Mrs.  Waddles  and  Jack  being  close 


160 


DOGTOWN 


behind  did  likewise.  The  owl  gave  another  scream 
and  a  long-drawn  shay -shay -shay  ;  but  this  time 
instead  of  frightening  Waddles,  it  seemed  to  strike 
the  musical  note  in  his  soul,  and  settling  firmly  on 

his  haunches  he 
threw  back  his 
head  and  began 
to  sing.  His  lips 
moved  very  little, 
but  the  chords  in 
his  throat  could  be 
seen  to  vibrate 
even  by  the  moon- 

light. ' 

Jack,  after  a  few 
squeaks  and  barks, 
joined  in  a  queer 
trembling  treble, 
and  finally  the 
noise  penetrated 
Happy's  brain, 
deaf  though  she 
was,  and  she 
added  to  the  din 
by  a  tune  in  a 
wholly  different 
key. 


TABLE  BOARDERS  161 

The  effect  was  as  bewildering  to  Anne  and  her 
father  as  to  the  soldiers  in  a  procession  when  they 
are  an  equal  distance  between  two  bands  playing 
different  tunes.  At  first  they  laughed,  then  put 
their  fingers  in  their  ears,  called  to  the  dogs  and 
tried  to  stop  the  din,  for  it  was  being  taken 
up  far  and  near,  the  shrieks  and  imitation  bays 
of  Pinkie  Scott's  fox  terriers,  who  didn't  know 
how  to  sing,  being  particularly  piercing.  In  fact, 
Miss  Jule  afterward  said  that  all  her  dogs  re 
sponded,  and  that  Mr.  Hugh's  hounds  and  Squire 
Hurley's  kept  it  up  half  the  night. 

Jack  and  Happy  were  easily  quieted,  but  Wad 
dles  was  irrepressible  and  continued  to  sing  to 
himself  after  he  went  to  his  sleeping  place  on 
the  rug  outside  of  Anne's  door,  so  that  long  after 
the  household  had  vainly  tried  to  go  to  sleep,  and 
Tommy  half  waking  had  an  argument  with  his 
mother,  and  insisted  upon  being  dressed,  saying 
that  he  knew  it  was  morning,  because  he  "  heard 
roosters,"  Waddles  was  led  out  to  his  house  and 
chained  for  the  night,  the  severest  punishment 
that  he  could  have. 

Anne  tried  to  console  him  from  her  window, 
but  as  soon  as  he  seemed  about  to  lie  down,  he 
began  again,  and  Anne  retired  in  disgust  ;  at  her 
last  glimpse  of  him  he  was  standing  motionless 


162  DOGTOWN 

with  his  head  raised  and  facing  the  moon  in 
musical  ecstasy.  She  did  not  know,  however,  that 
Mamma  Owl  was  mouse  hunting  in  deep  shadow 
along  the  wall  back  of  the  kennel,  saying  things 
that  no  self-respecting  dog  could  hear  and  keep 
silence. 

The  next  morning  Anne's  first  thought  was  of 
the  owls,  and  that  she  must  try  to  find  where 
they  had  nested.  She  believed  that  she  and 
Tommy  had  explored  every  tree  in  the  neighbour 
hood  since  March  when  the  ice  melted.  The  nest 
must  be  somewhere  in  the  orchard,  for  there  was 
nothing  in  the  owl  boxes  that  were  put  in  the 
pines  several  years  before. 

When  she  threw  open  the  shutters  toward  the 
wooded  side  of  the  place,  her  eye  rested  on  two 
unusual  bumps  on  the  reddish  bark  of  a  Scotch 
pine.  She  looked  again,  and  even  without  the 
aid  of  her  field-glass  saw  that  two  of  the  baby 
screech-owls  had  settled  for  their  daytime  sleep  in 
the  crotches  of  the  pine,  their  young  rusty  gray 
feathers  so  blending  with  the  bark  that  it  would 
have  been  impossible  to  see  them  except  from  the 
slant  of  light  and  the  fact  that  she  was  on  a  level 
with  them. 

Hurrying  down  she  walked  under  the  tree,  and 
though  she  knew  exactly  where  they  perched,  it 


Waddles  Baying  the  Owls. 


TABLE  BOARDERS 


165 


was  some  time  before  she  could  find  them  again. 
Their  eyes  were  tightly  closed,  yet  as  she  walked 
around  the  tree  the  heads  turned  and  followed 
her  until  it  seemed  as  if 
they  would  twist  them  off 
altogether. 

"  I  know  where  some 
of  those  words  come  from 
that  you  do  not  like  us 
to  say,"  Anne  said  to  her 
mother  as  she  went  in  to 
breakfast.  "  To  'rubber 
neck '  is  a  regular  verb  in 
pure  owl,  for  I've  just 
seen  them  do  it." 

Before  the  morning 
was  out,  the  children  had 
discovered  three  of  the 
baby  owls  in  a  hemlock, 
and  one  parent  perched  in 
a  hackberry  close  to  her 
stone-fence  dining  room, 
probably  waiting  for  sup 
per  time,  as  the  table  was 
then  occupied  by  the  lit 
tle  day  birds  that  hopped 
about  fearlessly,  as  if  re- 


166  DOGTOWN 

lying  upon  Anne  and  the  bright  sunlight  for  pro 
tection,  for  little  Oo-oo  is  a  true  night  owl. 

After  Anne  had  searched  the  orchard  for  the 
nest,  and  given  it  up  in  despair,  Tommy  found  the 
owl's  home  quite  by  accident.  He  was  hunting 
for  the  sixth  little  owl,  and  thought  he  saw  it  in 
a  pine  near  the  house.  Not  being  daunted  by 
pine  gum,  he  had  nearly  reached  the  top  of  the 
tree,  which  was  bushy  instead  of  pointed,  as  the 
leader  had  been  snapped  off  in  a  sleet  storm,  and 
several  branches  were  struggling  to  replace  it. 
Suddenly  he  called  to  Anne  in  great  excitement, 
for  there,  in  the  bushy  place,  resting  on  the  thick 
stump  of  the  broken  tree-top,  was  the  owl's  nest, 
not  fifty  feet  from  Anne's  window. 

It  was  not  much  of  a  nest,  to  be  sure,  merely 
a  collection  of  sticks  and  matted  pine  needles,  but 
that  the  six  owlets  had  spent  the  weeks  between 
hatching  and  flying  in  it,  was  proved  by  the  bits 
of  bones,  fur,  and  beetle  shells  with  which  it  was 
littered. 

Of  course  Anne  had  to  go  and  look,  and  later 
on  they  coaxed  Miss  Letty  up  too,  for  it  was 
quite  easy  climbing,  if  you  didn't  mind  the 
stickiness.  As  they  all  came  down  again,  who 
should  come  in  but  Mr.  Hugh  to  return  a  book. 
Miss  Letty  shook  hands  carelessly,  without  look- 


TABLE   BOARDERS  169 

ing  at  him,  thereby  mischievously  transferring  a 
goodly  share  of  pine  gum  from  her  palm  to  his  ; 
but  though  he  looked  surprised,  there  was  nothing 
for  him  to  do  but  laugh,  and  it  somewhat  broke 
the  stiffness  that  was  always  between  them. 

Just  then  a  pitiful  howl  led  the  party  toward 
the  long  grass  below  the  pines.  A  strange  noise 
indeed,  nothing  less  than  Waddles  howling  with 
pain.  He  had  found,  and  tried  to  retrieve,  the 
sixth  little  owl,  that  had  dropped  from  its  perch 
into  the  long  grass,  and  the  owlet  had  seized  him 
by  the  nose  with  its  six  talons,  using  its  beak  in 
the  meantime. 

Anne,  remembering  her  last  night's  experience, 
drew  back.  Tommy  foolishly  cried  "  sic-em  "  in 
anticipation  of  a  fight.  Miss  Letty  would  have 
grasped  the  bird  if  Mr.  Hugh  had  not  been 
quicker,  giving  it  a  little  rap  above  the  beak 
that  made  it  loosen  its  hold  and  flop  down  in  the 
grass,  where  it  sat  with  wings  partly  raised  and 
snapping  beak,  the  picture  of  baby  rage,  while 
Waddles  drew  back  and  eyed  it  ruefully,  head  on 
one  side. 

Anne's  father,  seeing  what  was  happening,  ran 
for  his  camera  and  took  a  picture  of  the  group 
before  Waddles  had  recovered  from  his  astonish 
ment,  and  put  himself  to  bed  in  his  kennel  both 


170  DOGTOWN 

wiser  and  sadder.  Moreover  the  twins  did  not 
spoil  this  negative. 

"  I  think  your  Magic  Spectacles  need  cleaning, 
little  daughter,"  said  Anne's  father,  laughing, 
when  she  told  him  of  the  near-by  nest  and  how  no 
one  had  even  suspected  that  an  owl  family  was  in 
the  garden,  after  all  their  efforts  to  attract  little 
Oo-oo  with  boxes  and  ready-made  nooks. 

"  The  moral  of  that  is,"  said  Mr.  Hugh,  pausing 
as  he  was  telling  Miss  Letty  of  a  compound  that 
would  take  pine  gum  off  white  duck  skirts,  "  don't 
try  to  manage  wild  birds.  Keep  dogs,  be  liberal 
with  their  table  board,  and  watch  out ;  the  birds 
will  do  the  rest." 


CHAPTER  VII 

FIVE-O'CLOCK  TEAS 

PINKIE  SCOTT'S  cousin  Dorothy  came  to  spend 
a  week  with  her,  and  the  two  little  girls 
planned  to  have  an  afternoon  tea,  not  only 
for  some  friends,  but  for  their  friends'  dogs  as 
well. 

Pinkie's  mother  looked  dubious  when  first  ap 
proached  about  the  matter,  but  finally  said  that 
they  might  ask  six  people  and  six  young  dogs, 
thinking  in  this  way  to  keep  the  festivities  within 
handleable  limits,  as  young  dogs,  like  young 
children,  are  not  so  apt  to  have  the  fixed  ideas 
and  jealousies  of  their  elders. 

Pinkie  Scott  was  Tommy's  nearest  neighbour, 
though  that  does  not  mean  that  she  lived  near 
enough  for  them  to  grow  tired  of  each  other's 
society,  for  the  houses  on  the  hillside  of  Dogtown 
were  few  and  set  amid  plenty  of  land.  Pinkie 
had  three  dogs,  —  a  stout  black  and  tan  dachshund 
named  Hans  Sachs,  and  twin  fox  terriers  called 

171 


172  DOGTOWN 

Luck  and  Pluck,  which  names  exactly  describe 
their  character. 

Hans  was  an  extremely  amiable  dog  of  the  now 
fashionable  "  turnspit "  variety,  and  possessed  a 
keen  sense  of  humour,  which  he  expressed  by  a 
most  wonderful  scale  of  barks  varying  from 
a  sub-cellar  basso  to  high  c.  When,  a  particular 
bit  of  fun  tickled  him,  he  would  plant  his  bent 
fore  feet,  a  joke  in  themselves,  and  whirl  round 
and  round  like  a  pinwheel. 

He  was  Pinkie's  constant  companion,  followed 
her  wherever  she  went,  and  slept  on  a  mat  at  her 
door.  Luck  and  Pluck,  though  devoted  by  fits 
and  starts,  were  not  nearly  so  reliable,  often 
taking  runs  a  whole  morning  long  quite  by 
themselves  ;  but  then,  unless  fox  terriers  can  run 
until  they  are  tired,  they  jump  about  like  four- 
legged  electric  batteries  and  make  one  nervous. 

Wednesday  would  be  Dorothy's  sixth  birthday, 
so  the  tea-party  was  set  for  that  afternoon,  and 
the  day  before,  the  two  cousins,  each  carrying  her 
pet  doll,  walked  up  and  down  in  the  shade  of 
the  arbour  playhouse,  trying  to  make  up  their 
minds  whom  they  would  invite  and  what  they 
should  have  to  eat,  for  parties  were  very  infor 
mal  affairs  among  the  little  folks,  an  invitation 
given  a  day  in  advance  being  considered  not  only 


FIVE-O'CLOCK   TEAS  173 

quite  sufficient,  but  particularly  desirable  by  their 
parents.  It  takes  a  very  grand  affair  indeed  to 
withstand  long  anticipation. 

"  We'll  ask  Sophie  and  Charlie  Mayhew  and 
Silvie  their  dog,  of  course ;  that's  two  people  and 
one  dog,"  said  Pinkie,  counting  on  her  fingers. 

"And  Tommy  and  Anne  and  all  their  dogs," 
added  Dorothy. 

"  Tommy  and  Jack  Waddles,"  corrected  Pinkie. 
"Anne  is  too  old,  and  of  course  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Waddles  are." 

"  But  Waddles  loves  tea  parties  and  things  to 
eat,  and  cheers  like  anything  when  he  even  smells 
five-o'clock  tea  biscuit,"  pleaded  Dorothy;  but 
Pinkie's  mind  was  made  up ;  "  He  is  too  greedy," 
she  said.  "At  Miss  Jule's  dog  party  he  ate 
nearly  a  whole  box  of  4  five-o'clock  teas,'  the 
lovely  mixed  ones,  pink  and  chocolate  and  white, 
and  mother  has  only  given  me  two  boxes  for  the 
whole  party.  Of  course  we  shall  ask  Jessie  and 
Jack  Lane,  and  they've  got  two  dogs,  Toodles  and 
Blackberry." 

"  That  only  makes  five  people  and  five  dogs," 
said  Dorothy,  unable  to  deny  Waddles's  greed, 
especially  where  the  crisp  tea  biscuit,  his  pet 
delicacy,  were  concerned.  "  Who  will  be  six  ?  " 

"  Miss   Letty  and  Hamlet   of   course,"  replied 


174  DOGTOWN 

Pinkie,  with  the  air  of  one  announcing  a  star 
attraction. 

"  But  she  is  very,  very  old,"  objected  Dorothy, 
"  nearly  as  old  as  mamma,  and  Hamlet  is  just  as  old 
as  Mrs.  Waddles;  I  heard  Miss  Jule  say  so." 

"  You  disunderstand,"  said  Pinkie,  looking  an 
noyed  at  having  to  explain.  "You  see,  if  the 
people  who  come  are  nice,  there  is  always  some 
body  old  at  a  party  to  shampoorone  it  and  see  that 
people  don't  eat  too  much  or  do  too  many  things 
they  like.  Mother  is  going  to  take  Aunt  May  to 
the  Golf  Club  to-morrow,  and  so  Miss  Letty  is 
going  to  shampoorone  my  tea.  She's  lovely  for 
that,  Tommy's  had  her  and  Sophie,  and  she  won't 
do  it  a  bit  hard,  and  Hamlet  is  going  to  be  the 
entertainer  and  do  all  his  tricks,  and  Miss  Letty 
says  that  if  we  put  the  samwiches  and  biscuits  in 
a  basket  with  a  handle,  he'll  take  it  in  his  mouth 
and  pass  them  round  to  the  other  dogs." 

"  My !  "  ejaculated  Dorothy,  opening  her  eyes 
very  wide;  "that'll  be  better  than  Punch  and 
Judy,  besides  we've  been  having  them  everywhere 
I've  been  all  winter,  and  the  man  that  unswallows 
the  rabbit  and  the  bowl  of  goldfish  and  paper 
flowers  beside.  But  why  mightn't  Hamlet  run 
away  with  the  basket  and  gobble  the  things  him 
self  ?  "  added  the  practical  young  lady. 


FIVE-O'CLOCK  TEAS  175 

"•  Because  —  because  he's  twained  —  he  wouldn't 
think  of  such  a  thing,"  stammered  Pinkie,  such  an 
objection  never  before  having  entered  her  brain. 

The  guests  being  arranged,  food  was  the  next 
question.  "  There'll  be  ice  cream  and  sponge 
cake  and  chocolates,  and  real  tea  to  pour  out  of  a 
tea-pot  for  us,"  said  Pinkie,  readily,  "  and  five- 
o'clock  teas,  and  samwiches  with  sausages  between 
for  the  dogs,  and  buttermilk,  and  a  bone  each  to 
take  home  with  them.  Mother  told  cook  yester 
day  to  collect  nice  strong  bones  that  won't  chip  up 
and  hurt  their  insides.  Then  there'll  be  'cookies, 
too.  You  make  dog  cookies  with  lard.  Miss 
Jule  invented  them,  'cause  dogs  love  lard." 

The  guests  being  duly  invited  before  luncheon 
on  Tuesday,  all  promptly  accepted  before  dinner 
time  of  the  same  day,  and  Pinkie  and  Dorothy 
went  to  bed  very  early,  intending  to  rise  with  the 
sun  and  begin  their  preparations,  for  Dogtown 
mothers  were  very  sensible  and  insisted  that  when 
little  entertainments  were  given,  the  children 
should  do  as  much  as  possible  of  the  preparation 
themselves,  instead  of  casting  the  burden  upon  the 
servants,  and  then  spending  the  intervening  time 
in  fault-finding. 

Pinkie's  mother  purposely  darkened  the  room, 
however,  so  that  they  might  have  a  good  long 


176  DOGTOWN 

sleep,  for  after  breakfast  was  quite  soon  enough 
to  begin. 

Pinkie  discovered  the  very  first  thing  that  it 
wasn't  churning  day,  and  was  about  to  wail  at  the 
lack  of  buttermilk,  which  was  a  much  esteemed 
beverage  of  at  least  five  out  of  the  six  dog  guests. 

"  Oi've  crame  enough  for  the  shmall  churn  the 
day,  and  if  ye'll  bate  it  for  me  I'll  make  out  to 
give  ye  the  buttermilk,  for  wid  the  ice  to  freeze 
and  cake  and  cookies  I've  me  hands  full,"  said  the 
good-natured  Irish  cook,  wiping  Pinkie's  tears 
away  with  the  corner  of  her  gingham  apron,  one 
of  the  peculiarities  of  the  helpers  in  Dogtown  be 
ing  that  were  they  native  or  foreign,  black  or 
white,  they  were  as  fond  of  children  and  dogs  as 
their  employers. 

Dorothy  wished  to  churn  the  butter,  but  as 
Pinkie  said,  "  The  first  time  you  do  it,  you  splat 
ter  it  all  about,  and  nobody  gets  any  buttermilk 
but  the  floor,"  adding,  "but  I've  done  it  more'n 
seven  times,  and  I  know  how."  So  Dorothy  was 
persuaded  to  cut  out  the  cookies  instead,  and 
chose  a  plain  round  cutter,  saying  wisely,  "I'd 
best  not  make  cat  and  rooster  cookies  'cause  it 
might  teach  the  doggies  to  eat  what  they 
shouldn't." 

While  Dorothy  worked  away  at  the  table  close 


FIVE^O'CLOCK  TEAS  177 

inside  the  kitchen  window,  enveloped  in  an  all- 
over  white  apron,  on  the  other  side  of  the  lat 
tice,  Pinkie,  sitting  on  a  small  bench  in  the  corner 
of  the  back  porch,  delved  away  at  the  churning, 
while  they  exchanged  reports  of  progress  that 
were  rather  discouraging  to  the  butter  maker. 

It  seemed  to  Pinkie  that  she  had  only  fairly 
begun  when  Dorothy  called  out,  "  First  pan  gone 
in  the  oven." 

44  Ker-chunk  —  ker-chunk,  ker-chunk,"  answered 
the  dasher  in  the  churn,  saying  by  the  tone  of  its 
voice  as  plainly  as  any  words,  "  Only  cream  yet, 
and  thin  at  that." 

Pinkie  stopped  for  a  moment  and  brought  out 
Julia  Mmnehaha,  her  favourite  doll,  whom  she 
stood  close  beside  her  for  company." 

44  First  panful  baked,  and  they  are  lovely. 
Crisp  and  good  if  the  butter  in  'em  is  lard,"  called 
Dorothy,  in  a  mumbling  voice  that  proclaimed 
that  she  was  eating. 

44  You  mustn't  eat  them,  they  are  for  the  dog 
company,"  expostulated  poor  Pinkie. 

44  I'm  only  eating  the  broken  ones,"  said 
Dorothy. 

44  Was  there  more'n  one  ?  " 

44  Yes,  three ;  you  see  when  I  help  cook  cut 
cookies  at  home  I  gener'ly  make  two  or  three 


178 


DOGTOWN 


broken  ones  out  of  the  edge  pieces  on  purpose  to 

eat,  so  that's  why  there's  three  now,  and  next  pan 

there'll  be  four." 

"Won't  you  bring  me  one  and  put  it  in  my 

mouth  ? "    coaxed    Pinkie.       "  'Cause   if    I    stop 

plunking    this   butter,    it    will   what  cook    calls, 

"go  back." 

Presently   Luck   and    Pluck   appeared   on   the 

scene,  drawn  by  the  smell  of  the  baking  cookies 

and  the  sound  of 
the  churn,  and 
stood  licking 
their  lips,  look 
ing  alternately 
at  their  little 
mistress  and 
backward  toward 
the  kitchen  win 
dow  with  a  wist 
ful  gaze. 

uKer-swish — 
ker-swash!" 
said  the  butter 
milk,  as  it  sepa 
rated  from  the 
butter  with  a 
'Butter's  come  I ' '  watery  splash . 


FIVE-O'CLOCK  TEAS  179 

"  Butter's  come  !  "  cried  Pinkie.  "  Now  listen, 
doggies,  you  are  going  to  have  company  this  after 
noon,  so  now  you  can  only  have  two  drops  of 
buttermilk  apiece." 

"  The  cream  is  frozen  and  the  dasher  is  ready 
for  us  to  scrape,  hurry  up,"  called  Dorothy,  com 
ing  to  the  window  armed  with  a  plate  and  two 
spoons,  "  and  it's  all  pink  with  fresh  stwaberries, 
too,  the  very  last  in  the  garden." 

When  this  new  excitement  had  subsided,  and 
the  frosting  of  the  sponge  cake  hearts  and  rounds 
for  the  twofooted  company  had  been  closely  in 
spected,  with  many  remarks  of  regret  that  not  one 
of  these  delicacies  could,  by  any  stretching  of 
conscience,  be  called  even  damaged,  it  still  lacked 
an  hour  of  luncheon  time,  and  the  party  was  not 
to  begin  until  half -past  four. 

"  Let's  set  the  table  and  fix  the  seats,  and  have 
everything  ready,"  suggested  Dorothy,  who  was 
the  leading  spirit  of  the  two.  "  I'll  bring  out  the 
table  and  you  get  the  cups  and  saucers." 

They  put  the  little  table  under  the  arbour,  close 
to  the  entrance  where  it  would  be  shady  in  the 
afternoon,  and  covered  it  with  Mrs.  Scott's  best 
fringed  tea-cloth,  that  she  let  them  have  only  on 
the  promise  that  they  would  be  very  careful,  and 
not  let  the  dogs  put  their  paws  upon  it. 


180  DOGTOWN 

They  filled  one  little  jug  with  flowers  and  left 
the  other  empty  ready  for  the  cream. 

"  This  table  won't  hold  anything  but  the  tea 
things,"  said  Pinkie,  thoughtfully,  "we  will  have 
to  put  the  refweshments  somewhere  else  and  pass 
them." 

"  Here,  on  the  stone  wall  behind  the  arbour,  is 
a  nice  place,"  said  Dorothy,  "and  no  one  can  see 
the  things.  Let  us  play  tea-party  now,  I'll  pour 
the  tea  and  say  '  cream  or  lemon,  one  lump  or 
two,  please  ? '  And  you  can  say  4  no  tea,  thank 
you,  I  never  take  anything  between  meals.' 
Then  I  shan't  be  'barrassed  'cause  there  really 
isn't  any  tea." 

"  Yes,  I  will,"  acquiesced  Pinkie,  readily,  "  only  I 
think  first  I'll  get  Julia  Minnehaha  and  some 
bread  and  butter  'cause  I'm  really,  truly  hungry." 

Then  the  two  sat  down  at  either  end  of  the  table, 
while  Hans  Sachs  and  Pluck,  believing  it  to  be  a 
real  party,  waited  for  their  share,  which  proving 
to  be  only  bread  crumbs  sent  them  off  in  a  huff. 

Miss  Letty  came  to  take  luncheon  with  the  two 
mammas  and  brought  a  large  box  of  mottoes  for 
the  party.  "  They  have  paper  caps  in  them,  I 
know,"  whispered  Pinkie  in  delight,  "and  we  can 
put  them  on  us  and  the  dogs  and  have  a  fancy 
dwessed  ball." 


r3 

i. 


1 


FIVE-O'CLOCK   TEAS  183 

"  Be  sure  not  to  forget  the  basket  with  a  handle 
for  Hamlet  to  play  waiter  with,"  said  Miss  Letty, 
as  she  went  into  the  dining  room.  Pinkie  meant 
to  get  it  at  once,  but  she  stopped  to  count  the 
mottoes  and  so  forgot  all  about  it. 


When  the  mammas  started  for  the  Golf  Club  at 
four  the  little  girls  left  the  piazza  where  they  had 
been  told  to  sit  still  and  keep  their  dresses  clean, 
and  took  their  station  upon  the  gate  posts,  unseen 
by  Miss  Letty  who  was  busy  in  the  dining  room 
making  some  sausage  sandwiches  about  two  inches 
square,  so  that  each  represented  a  dog  mouthful, 
and  disputes  and  untidy  eating  might  be  avoided. 

Tommy  was  the  first  guest  to  arrive.  He  came 
on  his  wheel  and  looked  very  hot  and  tired,  for 
it  seemed  that  Waddles  wished  to  come  with 
him  while  Jack  Waddles  did  not.  The  dispute 
ended  in  his  bringing  both,  though  when  Wad 
dles  saw  that  he  was  not  welcome,  he  obeyed  the 
order  "  go  home  "  as  far  as  going  out  of  the  gate 
and  disappearing,  but  before  he  went  he  raised  his 
nose  in  the  air  and  gave  a  long  and  searching  sniff, 
which  caused  Tommy  to  say,  "Now  he  knows  all 
about  the  'freshmen ts." 

Jack  Waddles,  Luck,  Pluck,  and  Hans  Sachs  had 


184  DOGTOWN 

a  fine  game  of  tag  round  and  round  the  lawn,  in 
which  Hamlet  refused  to  join,  sitting  sedate  and 
silent  on  the  very  step  of  the  porch  where  his  mis 
tress  had  left  him. 

This  behaviour  was  probably  owing  to  the  fact 
that  it  was  the  first  time  that  he  had  worn  an  or 
namental  collar  with  a  large  bow  on  it  since  the 
day  of  his  disgrace  and  clipping,  and  he  did  not 
seem  quite  to  know  himself,  or  be  sure  who  he 
really  was,  like  the  little  old  woman  in  the  story 
who  had  her  petticoats  "  cut  all  round  about." 

His  closely  clipped  hind  quarters  told  of  freedom 
and  the  life  of  his  ancestors,  who,  as  everybody 
knows,  were  one  of  the  most  ancient  water-dog 
families  of  France,  being  wonderful  retrievers 
and  renowned  swimmers.  But  the  clanking  collar 
and  great  bow  of  wide  rose-pink  satin  ribbon 
tickled  the  back  of  his  neck  and  made  his  head 
feel  as  if  it  was  tied  on.  It  also  reminded  him 
of  the  days  in  Paris  when  he  went  to  a  dog  dancing- 
master  to  learn  to  waltz,  and  to  the  barber  to 
have  his  wool  clipped  in  as  many  useless  devices 
as  the  tattoos  of  a  savage,  so  that  he  might  be 
sold  for  a  great  price  to  be  the  clown  of  some  lady 
of  fashion.  Fortunately  for  him,  however,  the 
lady  who  bought  him  was  Miss  Letty's  aunt 
Marie. 


FIVE-O'CLOCK  TEAS 


185 


So  there  he  sat  and  brooded  and  if  Anne  had 
been  his  mistress  she  would  have  understood  and 
been  on  the  watch  for  some  sort  of  outbreak. 

Sophie  and  Charlie  Mayhew  were  the  next  to 
come.  They  were  heralded  by  much  squeaking 
and  creaking  of  wheels,  for  Charlie  played  horse 
and  brought  his  sister  in  state,  sitting  in  her  little 
canopy-top  box  wagon  with  dainty  Miss  Silvie,  an 
aristocratic  Yorkshire  terrier,  beside  her.  Miss  Sil 
vie  wore  a  light  blue  satin  bow,  and  her  silver-blue 
locks  had  been  brushed  until  they  hung  in  a  glis 
tening  fringe.  She  also  seemed  depressed  by  her 


186  DOGTOWN 

dressed-up  condition,  refused  to  give  a  paw  to 
either  Pinkie  or  Dorothy,  and  crawled  on  her 
stomach  over  to  the  porch,  where  she  gave  Hamlet 
an  apologetic  lick  and  crouched  close  beside  him, 
the  pair  looking  very  much  like  bored  human 
beings  at  an  afternoon  function  where  they  were 
perfect  strangers. 

"  Hurrah  !  here  come  Jessie  and  Jack  Lane, 
now  the  party  can  begin,"  cried  Tommy,  who  had 
climbed  a  small  tree  the  better  to  see  down  the 
road,  and  up  dashed  a  pony-cart  containing  a  boy 
of  nine,  a  girl  of  seven,  a  lovely  ruby  spaniel,  and 
the  coloured  groom  Charles,  while  behind  followed 
a  half-grown  English  setter  pup. 

"  Mr.  Lane  directed  me,  miss,"  said  the  groom, 
addressing  Miss  Letty  as  evidently  the  one  in 
command,  "  as  how  I'd  better  stay  in  the  'mediate 
vicinity,  miss,  in  case  of  trouble  or  a  scrimmage 
between  these  yere  dogs,  miss,  it  being  not  im 
probable  they  might,  miss,  'specially  ourn,  Ruby 
being  most  polight,  miss,  but  that  there  Black 
berry  the  setter  pup,  miss,  bein'  variegated  in  his 
disposition,  miss,  and  uncertain  where  he'll  break 
out,  but  he  would  follow." 

Miss  Letty  told  the  man  to  stay  by  all  means, 
such  a  possible  complication  not  having  occurred 
to  her  ;  so  after  taking  the  pony  to  the  stable, 


FIVE-O'CLOCK  TEAS  187 

he  discreetly  lost  himself  in  the  shadow  of  the 
near-by  shrubbery. 

"Shall  we  have  tea  or  make  the  dogs  do  their 
tricks  first  ?  "  asked  Miss  Letty,  to  whom  this  free 
and  easy  sort  of  dog  party  was  a  novel  affair, 
the  only  previous  one  she  had  attended  having 
been  at  her  Aunt  Marie's,  upon  her  own  birthday, 
when  Hamlet  had  been  presented  to  her. 

At  that  party  the  ten  dogs,  all  poodles,  brown, 
white,  or  black,  had  a  table  to  themselves,  around 
which  they  sat  upon  high  chairs,  with  napkins 
about  their  necks,  while  they  were  fed  with 
chicken  pate's  by  the  maids  of  their  several  own 
ers,  and  afterward  did  their  tricks  for  prizes  of 
bonbons. 

Only  imagine  Dogtown  dogs  eating  bonbons  ! 
The  very  idea  made  Miss  Letty  smile,  though  she 
did  not  know  why  candy  was  a  forbidden  thing  in 
the  local  dog  law,  the  reason  being  this. 

Long  before,  when  Waddles  was  a  half-grown 
pup,  and  Diana  was  Tommy-Anne,  and  Obi  the 
garden  boy,  Waddles  had  one  day  lingered  in  the 
grocery  store  after  his  mistress  had  started  for 
home.  The  clerk,  either  for  mischief  or  because 
he  thought  the  dog  might  like  sweets,  threw  him 
a  generous  square  of  old-fashioned  molasses  candy 
in  its  wrapping  of  oiled  paper. 


188  DOGTOWN 

Waddles  at  first  had  played  with  it  as  a  toy,  not 
thinking  it  an  eatable,  knocking  it  about  with  his 
paw,  and  then  throwing  it  into  the  air.  During 
this  performance  he  got  a  taste  of  the  covering, 
and  then  holding  the  bit  between  his  fore  paws  he 
proceeded  to  gnaw  the  paper  off.  The  sweet  taste 
pleased  him,  and  he  tried  to  nibble  the  candy,  but 
it  resisted  his  teeth.  Being  somewhat  piqued,  he 
did  a  fatal  thing,  he  opened  his  mouth  wide  and 
threw  the  morsel  backward,  closing  his  chewing 
teeth  upon  it,  after  the  manner  of  eating  refrac 
tory  bones. 

Waddles  chewed  and  chewed,  but  he  could 
neither  swallow  the  candy  nor  free  his  jaws  from 
it.  Sticky  juice  ran  from  the  corners  of  his 
mouth,  and  his  eyes  began  to  look  wild.  He  tried 
all  the  muscular  methods  of  tongue  and  throat 
known  to  dogs  that  wish  to  uneat  undesirable 
things,  but  to  no  avail.  He  tried  howling,  but 
could  not  utter  a  sound,  for  he  was  literally  tongue- 
tied. 

Suddenly  he  bolted  from  the  store  and  tore  up 
the  road,  the  clerk  following  pale  and  frightened, 
for  he  feared  the  dog  was  choking,  and  no  one 
in  the  whole  village  would  have  hurt  a  pet  of 
Tommy-Anne's  for  worlds.  Meantime,  missing 
Waddles  when  she  reached  the  house,  Tommy- 


FIVE-O'CLOCK  TEAS  189 

Anne  turned  back  to  look  for  him,  and  to  her  ter 
ror  met  him  coming  in  the  gate,  yellow  froth  on  his 
lips,  the  clerk  following,  panting  and  having  only 
breath  enough  to  say,  "  He  —  isn't  —  mad  —  it's 
—  molasses  candy!"  'Meantime  Waddles  had 
cast  himself  into  his  mistress's  arms,  thereby 
knocking  her  over,  while  he  rubbed  his  throat 
frantically  in  her  dress.  Anne,  always  prompt  in 
an  emergency,  called  for  Obi  to  come  and  bring  a 
blunt  kitchen  fork.  In  a  trice  the  sticky  mess 
was  pried  and  twisted  off  and  the  dog  freed,  but 
he  never  forgot  the  experience,  and  later  on,  when 
as  a  fully  grown  dog  he  was  admitted  to  the  coun 
cil  of  Dogtown,  and  made  chairman  of  the  com 
mittee  for  the  revision  of  laws,  he  caused  the 
eating  of  candy  to  be  declared  oban,  or  a  '''•must 
not  be"~  which  rule  holds  there  to  this  day  except 
among  the  degenerates. 


The  children  agreed  that  the  tricks  had  best 
come  first,  because,  as  Dorothy  said,  "  You  can't 
tell  but  what  the  dogs  will  run  away  after  they've 
got  their  motto  caps  on  and  had  their  tea."  So 
the  children,  under  Miss  Letty's  instruction,  drew 
up  in  line  on  the  lowest  step  of  the  long  side 
piazza,  each  having  his  or  her  dog  in  charge. 


190  DOGTOWN 

Jack  Waddles's  only  trick  was  wrestling,  but  as 
he  would  not  do  it  except  with  his  mother,  now 
that  Jill  had  gone,  he  was  excused,  and  Pinkie 
stepped  forward  with  Hans,  who  obediently  did 
the  routine  taught  by  her  elder  brother,  —  made 
a  pinwheel  of  himself,  sat  up,  saluted  with  his 
right  paw,  cheered  for  the  Kaiser,  and  died  for 
the  Vaterland  in  so  realistic  a  manner  as  to 
cause  Sophie  to  shed  tears,  which,  however,  she 
soon  wiped  away,  using  the  top  of  Silvie's  head 
for  a  handkerchief.  Luck  and  Pluck  were  less 
conventional  and  more  animated  in  their  per 
formance.  They  played  leap-frog  beautifully, 
stood  and  sat  erect  on  their  hind  legs,  and 
caught  a  handkerchief  made  into  a  ball  in  a 
very  graceful  way. 

Next  Silvie  tiptoed  forward,  and  after  two 
trials  sat  up  in  a  most  comical  and  tipsy  manner, 
and  held  a  stick  as  if  it  was  a  gun,  thereby  so 
delighting  her  dear  little  roly-poly  mistress  that 
every  one  applauded  loudly. 

Blackberry  the  setter,  being  young  and  timid, 
was  also  excused,  but  when  Jessie  and  Jack  Lane, 
who  had  disappeared  for  a  minute,  returned  with 
Toodles  the  spaniel,  dressed  in  a  cocked  hat, 
Toby  frill  and  sash,  and  made  him  tumble  about 
like  a  clown  in  the  circus,  finally  walking  up 


FIVE-O'CLOCK  TEAS  191 

between  them  to  make  his  bow  while  they  did 
jig  steps,  every  one  cheered. 

Hamlet,  of  course,  was  the  star  performer,  but 
then  he  was  more  like  a  professional  appearing  at 
amateur  theatricals.  This  day  he  was  extremely 
contrary,  however,  and  his  mistress  had  to  give 
him  two  or  three  scoldings  in  rapid  French,  which 
sounded  very  mysterious  to  the  others.  But  when 
it  came  to  the  dancing  he  threw  himself  into  the 
spirit  of  it  at  once,  and  waltzed  to  Miss  Letty's 
whistling  until  she  grew  tired.  Next  he  did  his 
greatest  feat,  a  sort  of  sailor's  hornpipe,  in  which 
he  was  obliged  to  stand  erect  and  keep  in  motion, 
while  he  jerked  his  body  forward  continually  as  if 
he  was  pulling  in  rope. 

This  dance  came  to  an  abrupt  ending  because 
the  tune  which  accompanied  it  struck  Jack  Wad- 
dles's  musical  sensibilities,  and  caused  him  to  bay 
in  comic  imitation  of  his  father,  thereby  setting 
the  others  off  in  various  keys,  and  causing  such 
pandemonium  that  the  Lanes'  groom  rushed  from 
the  shrubbery,  thinking  "  the  scrimmage "  had 
come. 

Under  cover  of  the  noise  Pinkie  slipped  into  the 
house  at  a  signal  from  Miss  Letty  to  tell  the 
waitress  that  it  was  high  time  to  make  the  "  real 
tea  "  and  carry  the  eatables  to  the  pantry  on  the 


192  DOGTOWN 

stone  wall  behind  the  arbour.  Then  she  remem 
bered  that  she  had  forgotten  to  ask  her  mother 
for  a  basket  for  Hamlet's  waiter  trick.  "  It's  too 
bad,"  she  muttered  to  herself  behind  the  pantry 
door.  "  Miss  Letty  says  it's  his  queerest  trick, 
and  now  it's  all  spoiled."  As  she  looked  up,  the 
crack  of  the  door  gave  her  a  glimpse  into  the 
dining  room,  and  her  eye  rested  upon  the  mahog 
any  sideboard  at  the  exact  spot  where,  safe  and 
high  and  out  of  reach,  rested  a  pair  of  open-work 
silver  cake  baskets  with  hoop  handles  that  had 
belonged  to  her  great-grandmother,  and  were  con 
sequently  much  treasured  by  the  family. 

"  The  very  thing,"  she  said,  dropping  her  voice 
unconsciously  to  a  whisper,  "  and  a  silver  basket  is 
lots  properer  than  a  straw  one  for  a  tea-party." 

It  was  evident  that  at  this  moment  Pinkie's 
guardian  angel  and  her  conscience  had  taken  a 
walk  together  to  the  farthest  end  of  the  garden. 

She  pushed  one  of  the  big  arm-chairs  toward 
the  sideboard,  climbed  from  the  seat  to  the  back, 
secured  the  nearest  of  the  precious  baskets,  flew 
to  the  pantry,  emptied  a  box  of  five-o'clock  teas 
into  it,  and  covering  the  whole  with  a  napkin, 
ran  and  placed  it  on  the  fence  with  the  cakes 
and  sandwiches,  then  sauntered  back  to  her 
friends  with  a  suspicious  air  of  unconcern. 


FIVE-O'CLOCK  TEAS  193 

"  It  is  of  no  use  for  us  to  have  our  tea  until  the 
dogs  are  served,"  said  Mistress  Dorothy,  picking 
her  words,  and  speaking  in  manner  and  tone  in 
perfect  imitation  of  the  way  that  some  one  of  her 
elders  might  have  said,  "give  the  children  their 
supper,  and  then  we  shall  have  ours  in  peace." 

The  sausage  sandwiches  formed  the  first  course ; 
these  were  followed  wisely  by  the  saucers  of 
buttermilk,  for  sausages  are  rich,  thirsty  things, 
and  buttermilk  both  quenches  thirst  and  is 
good  for  dog  stomachs.  The  cookies  were  next 
in  order,  each  one  making  four  mouthfuls,  though 
Jack  Waddles  and  Silvie  both  tried  to  bolt  theirs 
whole,  and  choked  so  that  they  had  to  have  their 
saucers  refilled. 

"  Now  let  us  give  them  their  mottoes,"  said 
Pinkie,  forgetting  the  basket  for  the  time.  "  Will 
you  please  snap  them  and  give  each  one  their 
cap,  Miss  Letty  ?  " 

This  caused  a  great  deal  of  fun,  for  the  snap 
ping  affected  the  dogs  very  differently,  frighten 
ing  some,  and  merely  adding  to  the  spirits  of  the 
others,  while  the  paper  caps  changed  the  dogs'  en 
tire  expressions  for  the  few  moments  that  they  con 
sented  to  wear  them;  meanwhile  Luck  and  Pluck, 
seizing  on  a  motto  that  had  been  dropped,  played 
tug-of-war  with  it  to  such  good  effect  that  the 


DOGTOWN 

snapper  exploded  in  their  very  jaws,  causing  them 
to  stampede  in  terror,  while  the  children  rolled 
on  the  grass  in  fits  of  laughter. 

"Now  for  the  basket  of  five-o'clock  teas,"  said 
Miss  Letty,  who  saw  that  the  dogs  had  about  reached 
the  end  of  their  good  behaviour,  and  the  children 
were  also  growing  restive,  and  needed  the  soothing 
influence  of  ice-cream.  "  Is  it  ready,  Pinkie  ?  " 

Miss  Letty  then  fastened  Hamlet's  cap, 
which  chanced  to  be  a  white  Normandy  bonnet 
with  strings,  firmly  under  his  chin,  pinned  a 
napkin  around  his  waist  to  imitate  a  waiter's 
apron,  and  made  him  stand  erect. 

"Here's  the  basket,"  said  Pinkie,  coming  for 
ward  and  thrusting  the  quaint  bit  of  silver  sud 
denly  at  Miss  Letty. 

"  But,  Pinkie  dear,"  she  protested,  "  I  only 
wished  a  common  straw  basket ;  this  is  too  good. 
Hamlet  may  bend  or  break  it." 

"I  couldn't  get  anything  worse,"  answered 
Pinkie,  jerking  out  her  words  half  sulkily,  "  any 
way  —  it's  —  only  an  —  old  thing  —  and  —  mother 
didn't  say  I  mustn't  take  it." 

"  Yes,  but  old  things  are  often  very  precious ; 
yet  after  all  it  will  only  take  a  moment,  and 
I  will  wrap  my  handkerchief  about  the  handle 
so  that  Hamlet's  teeth  may  not  scratch  it." 


FIVE-O'CLOCK  TEAS  195 

"  Allons  !  "  she  cried  to  the  patient  dog,  who 
came  slowly  forward,  took  the  handle  between 
his  teeth,  and  walked  dutifully  down  the  line  of 
waiting  dogs.  Each  child  gave  a  biscuit  to  its 
pet,  because  if  the  dogs  had  been  allowed  to  help 
themselves,  poor  Hamlet  would  surely  have  been 
upset,  for  to  walk  in  such  a  position,  and  carry 
a  heavy  basket,  is  a  great  strain  for  any  dog,  no 
-matter  how  clever. 

All  went  well  until  Hamlet  reached  the  fox 
terriers,  when  Luck  made  a  spring  for  the  basket. 
This  seemed  to  be  a  signal  of  revolt  against  good 
behaviour,  for  instantly  Hamlet  dropped  on  all 
fours  and  began  careering  wildly  around,  still 
holding  the  basket.  Instantly  all  the  dogs  were 
running  about  in  a  circle,  barking  and  yelping 
wildly,  the  little  tea  table  was  overturned,  and 
cups,  saucers,  and  cookies  went  rolling  down  the 
walk  together. 

The  Lanes'  groom  flew  out  from  ambush  and 
tried  to  restore  order,  or  at  least  to  catch  his  own 
dogs,  but  Hans  Sachs  ran  between  his  feet  and 
upset  him  in  the  midst  of  the  china. 

At  first  the  children  had  added  their  shouts  to 
the  general  melee ;  but  when  the  table  was  over 
turned,  Pinkie  began  to  cry,  and  Ruby  having 
growled  at  Silvie,  little  Sophie  added  her  tears.  For 


196  DOGTOWN 

a  moment  poor  Miss  Letty  was  completely  bewil 
dered,  then  she  tried  to  capture  Hamlet,  who 
was  evidently  the  ringleader ;  but  Hamlet  was 
no  longer  the  polite  and  obedient  house  dog.  He 
would  not  even  listen,  and  after  circling  the  lawn 
three  or  four  times,  the  others  following  in  a  line 
like  a  troop  of  circus  dogs,  he  led  them  through 
the  open  back  gate,  and  across  the  fields,  still 
holding  the  basket  of  five-o'clock  teas  aloft, 
until  all  disappeared  from  view  like  a  whirlwind 
in  the  tall  grass  —  Silvie,  blue  bow,  and  all. 

"'Taint  no  mortial  use  folio  win'  on  'em  that 
ways,  miss,"  said  the  Lanes'  man,  making  for  the 
stable.  "  I'll  take  the  pony  and  head  'em  off  by 
the  cross-road,  or  they'll  run  to  Pine  Ridge  shore." 


"  Now  I  think  we  would  better  eat  our  ice 
cream  and  sponge  cake  before  they  come  back  or 
anything  else  happens,"  said  Miss  Letty,  as  she 
and  the  waitress  rearranged  the  table,  and  the 
children  agreed  with  her  vociferously,  that  is,  all 
but  Pinkie.  She  had  her  great-grandmother's 
silver  cake  basket  weighing  on  her  conscience, 
and  even  ice-cream  seemed  odious. 

Suddenly  Miss  Letty  realized  that  Hamlet  had 
carried  off  the  basket,  and  without  knowing  its 


FIVE-O'CLOCK  TEAS  197 

value,  she  spoke  of  it  to  the  waitress,  who 
grew  pale  with  fright  when  she  heard  what 
Pinkie  had  done,  saying  that  the  mistress  would 
never  allow  any  one  even  to  clean  the  baskets 
but  herself.  A  man  was  hastily  sent  to  follow 
the  trail  of  the  dogs  carefully,  and  two  help 
ings  of  ice-cream  and  unlimited  cake  and  mot 
toes  kept  up  the  spirit  of  those  who  had  clear 
consciences  for  more  than  half  an  hour,  when  a 
yelping  from  the  direction  of  Happy  Hall  or 
chard  told  that  the  run  was  over  and  the  run 
ners  returning. 

This  time  they  came  in  at  the  gate,  Hamlet 
still  in  the  lead,  but  without  the  basket.  All 
were  dripping  wet,  with  water-weeds,  and  ooze 
clinging  to  their  coats  and  tails,  and  Miss  Silvie's 
blue  ribbon  stringing  out  behind  her  was  merely 
a  long  rag.  Hamlet  had  found  himself,  how 
ever,  he  was  once  more  the  retrieving  water  dog 
of  old  France,  and  he  had  led  his  friends  to  the 
mill  pond  and  challenged  them  to  a  swimming 
match.  A  water  dog  he  remained,  for  from  that 
day  he  refused  to  do  his  taught  tricks,  and  wore 
his  hair  only  long  enough  to  clothe  his  skin, 
but  he  became  a  more  intelligent  companion 
than  ever. 


198  DOGTOWN 

Supper  time  came,  and  with  it  the  return  of 
Pinkie's  mother  and  aunt,  but  the  cake  basket 
could  not  be  found. 

"  We  will  drag  the  pond  for  it  to-morrow  ;  it  is 
probably  as  safe  from  burglars  there  at  the 
bottom  as  if  it  was  on  the  sideboard,"  said  Pinkie's 
father,  who  hated  a  fuss.  But  then  it  was  not  his 
grandmother's  basket. 

"  What  would  dear  grandma  have  said  to  this?" 
asked  Pinkie's  mother  of  her  sister.  The  idea 
was  too  appalling  to  admit  of  an  answer,  for 
Pinkie's  great-grandmother  belonged  to  that  par 
ticular  puritanic  time  when  children  though  seen 
were  said  to  have  never  been  heard,  and  dogs? 
Well,  dogs  were  merely  four-legged  brutes,  who 
were  fed  upon  what  nothing  else  would  eat.  One 
custom  of  the  far-away  period,  however,  happened 
to  Pinkie  that  night  —  she  was  spanked. 


Waddles,  on  returning  from  escorting  Tommy 
to  the  party  that  afternoon,  threw  himself  down 
under  the  lilac  bushes  for  a  nap.  He  was  in  a 
huff,  as  during  his  brief  stay  at  Pinkie's  his  keen 
nose  had  scented  the  presence  of  the  five-o'clock 
tea  biscuits,  which  his  heart  craved.  No  one  had 
asked  him  to  stay  or  given  him  a  biscuit,  and  he 


FIVE-O'CLOCK  TEAS 


199 


felt  himself  insulted  both  in  his  private  capacity 
and  as  Mayor  of  Dogtown. 

Toward  sunset  he  awoke  with  a  yawn  ;  it 
was  past  the  time  to  go  for  the  cows,  he  had 
slept  and  missed  a  trick  for  once.  Suddenly  a 
howling  and  baying  caused  him  to  prick  up  his 
ears,  and  at  the  same  moment  the  procession 
of  dogs  cut  cornerwise  from  the  orchard  across 
the  garden  and  away  toward  the  woods  and 
pond. 

Waddles  started  to  follow  them,  but  as  he  had 
nearly  reached  the  corner  of  the  wall  something 
glittering  caught  his  eye,  and  a  beloved  smell 
seized  on  his  nose  at  the  same  time.  There  at 
the  edge  of  the  cobbled  gutter  lying  on  its  side 
was  the  precious  cake  basket  with  fully  half  of  the 
box  of  five-o'clock  teas  beside  it  on  the  ground. 


200  DOGTOWN 

Waddles's  eyes  glistened.  He  sniffed  with  long 
sniffs  of  enjoyment,  he  licked  his  lips,  and  look 
ing  round  cautiously  from  time  to  time  ate  up 
every  biscuit  and  every  crumb,  then  walked 
slowly  off,  head  erect,  and  tail  held  gaily  as 
much  as  to  say,  "  Some  poor  dogs  have  to  go 
to  parties,  others  have  the  party  brought  to 
them." 


The  next  morning  when  Anne  went  out  early 
to  gather  flowers  for  the  breakfast  table,  she 
found  the  silver  basket  still  lying  on  its  side. 
Picking  it  up  joyfully,  for  every  one  now  knew 
of  its  loss,  and  finding  that  it  was  unharmed, 
she  sent  it  at  once  to  its  owner.  Waddles,  who 
was  with  her,  gave  no  sign  of  recognition,  but 
tiptoed  steadily  along  on  the  other  side  of  the 
walk. 

"  I  wonder  which  dog  ate  the  five-o'clock 
teas  ?  "  said  Anne  to  herself.  "  They  were  scat 
tered  through  the  fields,  most  likely." 

Only  Waddles  and  Hamlet  could  answer  this 
question,  and  —  there  is  honour  among  dogs.  Anne 
noticed,  however,  that  from  the  day  of  the  party 
Hamlet  became  an  esteemed  member  of  the  Dog- 
town  council  —  such  is  political  influence  ! 


CHAPTER   VIII 

A   HEN   PARTY 

ONE  day  a  letter  came  to  Miss  Letty  from  her 
Aunt  Marie  in  France,  asking  if  she  was  home 
sick,  and  if  she  did  not  wish  to  come  back  and 
go  to  Switzerland  with  them,  "for,"  the  letter 
translated  said,  "it  will  not  be  long,  at  most, 
before  you  will  rejoin  us.  My  gay  little  one 
could  never  remain  in  that  strange  country  of 
wild  dogs  when  the  winter  comes,  she  would  be 
desolate  for  Paris.  That  word  will  not  now 
mean  the  black  dress,  plain  fare,  and  high  brick 
wall  of  the  school ;  but  the  opera,  fetes,  bonbons, 
enchanting  costumes,  and  a  handsome  husband, 

201 


202  DOGTOWN 

for  your  uncle  has  already  in  thought  two  suit 
able  alliances  between  which  we  are  willing  you 
should  yourself  choose.  If,  however,  you  re 
main  still  longer  with  the  incomprehensible 
Aunt  Julie,  be  careful,  my  angel,  of  your  com 
plexion,  and  never  go  out  without  the  heavy 
brown  veil  above  the  white  one,  for  I  am  told 
that  the  sun  in  America  is  most  cruelly  piercing. 

"  One  word  as  to  the  beloved  poodle,  Hamlet. 
See  that  his  coat  is  well  oiled  and  preserved,  and 
that  he  does  not  play  with  strange  dogs  or  walk 
out  in  the  morning  before  the  dew  has  dried,  and 
then  only  in  the  shade  and  with  caution,  for  we 
intend  to  exhibit  Jiim  at  the  Xmas  fete  that 
Madame  de  B is  to  hold  to  benefit  the  hos 
pice  for  sick  dogs.  He  shall  do  his  tricks  under 
your  teaching  and  you  two  will  have  a  success 
superb." 

Anne  was  sitting  in  the  window  of  Miss  Letty's 
pretty  room  when  the  letter  was  brought,  and 
she  wondered  why  her  friend  grew  so  pale  as  she 
read  it,  and  when  she  suddenly  threw  herself,  face 
down,  on  the  pretty  white  bed  and  began  to  sob, 
Anne,  thoroughly  frightened,  for  Miss  Letty  was 
always  gay  and  smiling,  put  her  arms  around  her, 
and  begged  to  know  if  her  aunt  was  sick. 

"  No,  read  it,  it's  about  going  home  ;    just  when 


A   HEN   PARTY  203 

I  had  almost  forgotten  that  I  had  ever  lived  any 
where  but  here  —  it's  too  bad  —  read  it,"  and  she 
thrust  the  crumpled  letter  at  Anne,  burying  her 
head  in  the  pillow  again. 

Anne  read  it  through  very  slowly,  and  then,  as 
a  bark  from  below  caused  her  to  look  out  of  the 
window,  she  began  to  laugh  so  heartily  that  Miss 
Letty  looked  up,  surprised  at  her  lack  of  sym 
pathy. 

"I  can't  help  it,"  Anne  gasped,  as  she  took 
another  peep  out  of  the  window.  "  If  your  Aunt 
Marie  could  only  see  Hamlet,  all  shaven  and 
shorn,  digging  out  a  mole  with  Quick  and  Tip, 
and  looking  like  an  anyhow  dog,  I'm  sure  she 
wouldn't  expect  him  to  go  to  the  show. 

"Then,  of  course,  she  doesn't  know  that  you 
gave  Tommy  your  two  brown  veils  to  make  a 
butterfly  net,  and  that  you  are  —  well  —  rather 
tanned. 

"  But,"  continued  Anne,  suddenly  growing  sober, 
"  of  course  you  will  be  married  some  day  ;  but  surely 
it  will  not  be  to  somebody  you've  never  seen.  It 
would  be  very  nice  to  go  to  Switzerland,  though. 
Oh,  Miss  Letty,  are  you  really  thinking  of  going, 
and  does  it  make  you  sorry  to  leave  us  and  the 
dogs  —  and  everything  ?  Miss  Jule  said  that  per 
haps  you  might  like  it  here  well  enough  to  stay  with 


204  DOGTOWN 

her  always,  though  it  was  almost  too  much  to  ex 
pect,  and  Mr.  Hugh  said  that  it  most  certainly 
was;  yet  I  could  not  help  hoping." 

Then  two  heads  were  buried  in  the  same  pillow, 
and  fifteen  and  eighteen  seemed,  as  often  happened, 
to  be  about  the  same  age. 

"  I  can  stay  here  if  I  wish.  Father  said  that 
I  could  choose  when  I  had  tried  this  country  for 
six  months,  but  I  think  I'm  crying  because  Aunt 
Marie  hurries  me  so,  before  I've  even  thought  of 
going.  If  only  —  lien,  there  are  several  ifs,  Diane 
darling,  that  you  do  not  understand.  Why  do 
you  say  of  course  I  will  marry  some  day  ?  "  asked 
Miss  Letty,  raising  her  head  on  one  hand  to  peep 
out  of  the  window  at  Hamlet,  who  was  giving  his 
"  Vive  la  Republique  "  barking  song. 

"  Why  ?  Why,  because  I  think  it  is  so  much 
nicer  than  not  being ;  that  is,  when  one  has  no 
mother  to  leave  and  is  grown  up  and  has  to  wear 
their  hair  up  and  their  dresses  down.  There  is 
mother,  now,  do  you  think  that  she  could  possibly 
be  as  happy  without  father  and  us  ?  Of  course  1 
shall  not  marry,  because  I  couldn't  leave  her,  -but 
that  is  different,"  said  Anne,  in  a  tone  of  deep 
conviction. 

"  Aunt  Julie  has  never  married,  and  I  am  sure 
that  she  is  perfectly  happy  and  free.  No,  I  shall 


A  HEN   PARTY  205 

be  independent  like  Aunt  Julie  and  keep  horses 
and  dogs." 

"  Miss  Jule  is  happy  and  lovely  to  everybody, 
but  I  know  that  she  is  often  lonely,  and  as  to  being 
independent,  as  you  call  it,  it  was  not  her  plan 
at  all.  He  died,  and  he  was  Mr.  Hugh's  oldest 
brother,  ever  so  much  older  of  course  than  Mr. 
Hugh.  Mother  told  us  about  it  once  after  Tommy 
asked  Miss  Jule  why  she  was  not  married  and 
lived  up  there  all  alone  when  she  doesn't  like  thun 
der,  because  mother  always  sits  in  father's  study 
and  holds  his  hand  when  the  big  storms  come; 
not  that  she's  afraid,  oh,  no,  but  you  see  she'd 
rather —  That's  why,  because  of  his  brother  (be 
side  both  liking  dogs),  Mr.  Hugh  is  so  nice  to 
Miss  Jule,  exactly  the  same  as  if  she  really  was  his 
aunt,"  and  Anne  stopped,  quite  out  of  breath ; 
but  as  Miss  Letty  had  dried  her  eyes  and  looked 
interested,  she  continued  :  — 

"  Dogs  sometimes  have  a  great  deal  to  do  with 
people's  marrying  each  other,  that  is,  I  mean  begin 
ning  it.  You  see,  one  day,  ever  so  long  ago,  father 
was  in  New  York,  and  as  he  was  going  along  the 
street  he  heard  a  dog  yelp  and  cry  dreadfully,  and 
then  a  crowd  collected.  When  he  got  near  by  he 
heard  some  one  say,  4It's  been  run  over  but,  it  is  only 
a  cur,  a  policeman'll  soon  come  along  and  end  it.' 


206  DOGTOWN 

"  Then  the  people  went  away,  all  but  one  young 
lady,  and  in  the  gutter  he  saw  a  little  terrier  lying ; 
its  front  leg  was  broken,  and  though  it  was  partly 
stunned,  its  eyes  were  full  of  pain  and  terror. 
Before  he  could  reach  the  dog  the  lady  had  gone 
to  it,  tied  her  handkerchief  around  the  hurt  paw, 
and  lifting  it  up  very  gently,  and  in  spite  of  its 
being  bloody  and  dirty,  carried  it  away.  When 
she  had  gone  a  little  distance  down  a  side  street 
she  stopped  and  hesitated.  Then  father  overtook 
her  and  asked  if  he  might  help  with  the  dog. 
She  said  that  she  had  just  remembered  that  she 
did  not  live  in  the  city,  and  that  as  they  would  not 
let  her  carry  the  dog  on  the  street  cars,  she  was 
wondering  how  she  could  get  it  home. 

"  Father  said  that  he  would  gladly  carry  it  to  the 
Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals'  Hospital,  and  so, 
without  even  thinking  they  had  never  been  intro 
duced,  they  walked  along  together,  and  the  poor 
little  dog  stopped  moaning  and  licked  father's 
hand.  When  they  got  to  the  hospital  the  people 
said  that  they  would  chloroform  the  dog  dead,  or  if 
it  was  a  pet  they  could  cure  it,  for  they  thought  it 
must  be  a  pet,  otherwise  two  nicely  dressed  people 
would  not  be  likely  to  get  themselves  all  smeared 
up  to  bring  it  to  the  hospital.  Of  course  it  wasn't 
a  pet,  only  a  yellow  brown,  wire-haired  terrier  with 


A  HEN  PARTY  207 

back  legs  that  didn't  exactly  match  the  front. 
The  lady  was  going  to  say  i  chloroform  him,' 
when  he  struggled  up  on  three  legs  and  licked  her 
nose,  so  she  changed  the  words  to  'cure  him  if 
you  can,  and  I  will  pay,'  and  she  told  her  name 
and  address. 

"  Then  father  found  that  she  was  the  sister  of 
one  of  his  college  chums,  and  so  you  see  by 
and  by  they  were  married.  She  turned  out  to 
be  mother,  and  we  had  that  terrier  for  ever  so 
long,  though  he  always  had  one  bent  paw  and 
limped.  Father  christened  him  Accident,  and  we 
called  him  Axy  for  short.  And  when  he  grew  old 
and  died,  we  began  the  dog  cemetery  beyond  the 
orchard  with  him,  and  after  that  father  bought 
Waddles  for  me." 

Anne  told  the  story  almost  as  if  she  was  read 
ing  it  from  a  book,  for  it  was  very  real  to  her, 
and  both  she  and  Tommy  were  never  tired  of 
hearing  their  father  repeat  it. 

She  had  barely  ended  when  the  door  flew  open 
and  in  bounced  Quick,  Tip,  and  Hamlet,  followed 
by  Miss  Jule.  With  a  rush  and  whirl  the  dogs 
pounced  upon  Miss  Letty,  and  began  to  dig  her 
out  from  among  the  pillows  as  if  she  had  been  a 
rabbit  in  its  burrow,  while  Anne  vainly  tried  to 
call  them  off  and  rescue  the  snowy  bedspread. 


208  DOGTOWN 

Miss  Jule  looked  from  one  to  the  other  with  a 
question  in  her  eyes  as  she  saw  her  niece's  flushed 
face,  but  she  received  her  answer  when  she  read 
the  letter  that  Letty  handed  her.  She  put  it  back 
in  its  envelope,  saying  dryly :  "  I  claim  you  until 
the  six  months  are  up,  after  that  we  shall  see. 
Meanwhile  Mr.  Hugh  has  asked  you  all  to  go 
to-morrow  and  picnic  on  the  new  land  he  has 
bought  that  lies  between  the  river  and  Pine 
Ridge. 

"  His  cousins,  the  Willoughby  girls,  are  staying 
with  him ;  but  as  their  mother  is  an  invalid,  I  am 
to  keep  you  out  of  mischief  and  see  that  you  do 
not  get  lost.  I  will  take  •  the  brake  with  the 
luncheon,  and  you  can  either  drive  all  the  way 
or  take  your  wheels  and  alternately  drive  with  me 
or  ride  them."  So  Anne  went  home  to  prepare  for 
the  next  day  and  appease  Tommy,  who  would  be 
broken-hearted  to  hear  that  his  White  Lady  was 
going  to  a  picnic  without  him,  while  Miss  Letty 
seated  herself  at  the  desk  by  her  window  to 
answer  her  letter,  and  this  is  the  English  of  what 
she  wrote  :  — 

"  DEAR  AUNT  MARIE  :  My  Aunt  Julie  makes 
it  a  point  that  I  remain  with  her  the  six  months 
for  which  I  came.  But  believe  me,  I  am  very 


A  HEN  PARTY  209 

well  amused,  even  though  I  have  no  companions 
but  Diane  and  the  little  Tommy,  for  this  place  is 
much  more  unusual  than  even  Paris.  The  dogs 
are  not  wild,  as  you  think,  but  most  polite,  with 
delightful  manners.  Two  have  now  come  to  call 
upon  Hamlet,  and  as  I  write  are  conversing  with 
him  below  the  window.  He  is  well,  but  his 
costume  is  so  altered  that  you  would  hardly  know 
him.  I  also  no  longer  wear  a  veil,  it  not  being 
the  custom  here,  neither  is  it  to  have  an  uncle 
choose  one's  husband  in  advance  of  one's  wish  to 
marry.  I  decidedly  prefer  all  American  customs 
in  such  matters.  It  is  glorious  summer  now.  Do 
not  let  us  speak  of  winter,  dear  aunt,  until  the 
frost  has  browned  the  leaves  at  least. 
"  Your  affec.  niece 

"  LETTICE." 

As  she  sealed  the  envelope  she  heard  a  horse 
galloping  down  the  road,  but  why  she  smiled  as 
she  looked  out  the  window,  or  felt  somehow 
deceitful  about  the  letter  she  had  written,  she 
could  not  have  told.  Perhaps  it  was  because 
Hamlet  was  standing  on  his  head  and  doing  some 
of  his  old  tricks,  all  the  while  looking  very  wise, 
and  as  if  he  knew  that  he  was  surprising  Tip, 
who  always  tried  to  imitate  him. 


210  DOGTOWtf 

The  next  morning  was  cool  and  delightful,  but 
one  of  the  sort  of  days  that  is  not  to  be  trusted 
at  Woodlands,  when  it  comes  in  early  August ; 
for  it  may  grow  very  sultry  at  noon,  thunder 
clouds  following  the  change,  or  the  wind  may 
turn  to  the  east,  and  bring  a  cold  storm  with  the 
incoming  tide. 

However,  everything  promised  well  when  the 
long  brake,  with  its  four  horses,  a  clothes-basket 
of  good  things,  and  Miss  Jule  and  Letty,  called 
for  Anne. 

When  they  arrived  at  Mr.  Hugh's  home,  they 
met  a  disappointment.  The  Willoughby  girls 
were  waiting,  armed  with  sketch-books,  plant 
boxes,  and  fishing-poles,  but  no  Mr.  Hugh.  He 
had  been  called  to  town  on  business,  but  hoped 
to  be  back  in  time  to  join  them  at  luncheon, 
and  they  were  to  do  everything  as  he  had  first 
planned  —  fish  for  bass  in  the  big  pond,  shoot  at 
a  target  that  he  had  arranged  for  his  own  use 
in  the  long  meadow,  and  cook  their  luncheon 
gypsy  fashion. 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Miss  Jule,  "  this  is  a  hen 
picnic  ;  but  when  I  was  a  girl  we  seldom  had  any 
other  kind  hereabouts,  and  yet  we  always  had 
plenty  of  fun.  I  think  that  you  girls  had  better 
ride  your  wheels  until  we  come  to  the  long  hill, 


A   HEN  PARTY  211 

or  else  pack  them  into  the  other  wagon  ;  for  with 
all  these  fishing-rods  and  things  the  brake  will  be 
full." 

The  dogs  had  to  be  tied  up  and  stay  at  home  ; 
for  taking  dogs  who  love  to  swim  on  a  fishing 
excursion  is  a  "mustn't  be." 

Mr.  Hugh's  new  land  was  a  strip  of  several 
hundred  acres  of  wild  meadows,  bordered  by  thick 
woods  that  joined  his  farm  and  followed  the  river 
quite  to  the  Pine  Ridge  waterfall. 

It  had  once  been  a  farm  ;  for  in  open  places  the 
hummocks  under  the  rough  grass  told  where  corn 
fields  had  been.  There  were  two  tumble-down 
orchards  (one-  of  early  and  one  of  late  apples), 
while  raspberry  vines,  a  ruined  chimney,  and 
tufts,  here  and  there,  of  old-fashioned  flowers  told 
of  a  home  that  had  gone. 

The  woods  that  bordered  the  river  were  very 
wild  and  fascinating,  deep  shade  being  made  by 
oaks,  beeches,  and  giant  hemlocks.  No  trees  had 
been  cut  for  many  years,  though  the  dead  wood 
had  evidently  been  carefully  cleared  away. 

There  were  great  rocks  covered  with  ferns  that 
sloped  to  the  river  edge,  where  the  water  had 
whirled  stone  within  stone  and  worn  "  pot-holes  " 
and  carved  many  strange  devices. 

The    Willoughby   girls   were    in   ecstasies,   for 


212  DOGTOWN 

most  of  their  summers  had  been  spent  by  the 
sea.  Elsa,  the  eldest,  soon  chose  a  bit  for  a 
sketch ;  Martica,  who  was  a  junior  at  Vassar, 
discovered  material  for  a  thesis  on  ferns  ;  Louise, 
the  youngest,  set  about  picking  delicious  looking 
blackberries,  that  though  now  growing  wild  must 
have  been  the  grandchildren  of  the  fruit  of  the 
old  garden.  Thus  it  came  to  be  that  Miss  Jule, 
Letty,  Anne,  and  May  Willoughby  formed  the 
fishing  party;  for  no  one  cared  to  shoot  at  a 
target  without  Mr.  Hugh  to  keep  score  and 
praise  or  criticise  their  shots. 

The  pond  was  a  little  way  up  the  stream,  from 
which  it  was  separated  by  a  sloping  stone  dam 
that  extended  like  a  wall  for  fifty  feet  around  the 
north  side,  and  being  overhung  with  trees  made 
a  fine  place  from  which  to  fish. 

The  hooks  were  baited  and  dropped  in  the 
water,  and  then  Anne  began  to  look  about  as  if 
to  locate  herself,  saying:  "I  thought  I  knew 
every  bit  of  woods  within  miles  of  home,  but  I've 
never  been  on  this  side  of  the  river  just  here. 
When  Obi  was  our  garden  boy  he  and  I  used  to 
go  a  great  deal  to  the  old  mill  on  the  other  side 
of  the  pond  where  the  wood-ducks  nested  ;  but 
once  when  we  came  across  the  dam,  close  by 
where  we  are  now,  and  dug  some  wild  sarsa- 


A   HEN  PARTY  213 

parilla,  an  old  woman  with  a  crutch  came  out 
of  the  trees  and  chased  us  away. 

"  Obi  said  that  she  was  called  the  Herb  Witch, 
and  that  she  lived  in  a  hut  somewhere  in  the 
woods,  and  gathered  weeds  and  things,  that  she 
sold  to  make  magic  medicines,  and  that  we  had 
better  not  cross  her,  because  she  could  poison 
people  by  even  breathing  at  them. 

"  Of  course  I  didn't  believe  that;  but  she  cer 
tainty  looked  rather  weird,  standing  there  among 
the  trees  wearing  a  cloak  with  a  pointed  hood,  such 
as  witches  always  wear  in  story-books,  with  her 
skirt,  that  was  gathered  into  a  sort  of  bag  in 
front,  full  of  roots  and  herbs. 

"  Do  you  know,  Miss  Jule,  of  whom  Mr.  Hugh 
bought  this  land  ?  Somehow,  I  didn't  think  that 
it  belonged  to  anybody." 

"  He  bought  it  from  the  town,"  answered  Miss 
Jule,  slowly.  She  was  watching  her  line  with 
interest,  for  the  bobber  would  now  and  then  give 
a  dive  and  then  whirl  about. 

"  Years  ago  the  place  belonged  to  a  farmer,  a 
Scotchman  of  the  thrifty  old  stock  who  could 
make  a  living  anywhere  ;  and  I've  heard  my 
father  say  that  it  was  a  fine  old  farm,  and  yielded 
a  good  income  when  the  town  had  only  two 
market  days  a  week  —  Wednesday  and  Saturday 


214  DOGTOWN 

—  and  depended  upon  the  produce  from  the 
neighbourhood.  When  this  farmer  died,  his  son, 
who  was  a  sailor,  came  ashore,  married  a  pretty 
cousin  from  over  seas  against  her  people's  wish, 
and  tried  to  work  the  farm.  But  he  was  a  born 
rover,  and  the  easy  days  for  farming  among  these 
rocky  hills  had  passed.  In  a  few  years  he  went 
to  sea  once  more,  and  was  never  heard  of  again. 
Then  his  wife  struggled  along  with  her  little 
boy,  and  for  some  time  made  a  fair  living  from 
selling  milk  and  poultry,  renting  pasture,  work 
ing  the  fields  on  shares,  and  such  like,  hoping  to 
keep  things  together  until  her  boy  could  take 
charge.  Of  course  he  was  lonely,  and  as  he 
grew  up  craved  companionship,  and  finally  went 
off,  I  think  to  a  cousin  who  did  something  in 
Australia. 

"  The  mother  stayed  on  alone,  and  for  a  while 
seemed  to  do  well.  I  fancy  the  son  sent  her 
money.  But  the  old  house  burned  down,  and  she 
grew  more  and  more  crabbed,  and  of  late  years  has 
had  nothing  to  do  with  her  neighbours,  and  would 
let  no  one  into  her  house,  she  having  moved  into  a 
small  cottage  on  the  north  road  when  the  farm 
house  was  burned.  Different  people  have  tried 
to  help  her ;  but  she  is  proud  and  unmanageable, 
they  say.  The  town  finally  took  the  farm  for 


A   HEN  PARTY  215 

unpaid  taxes  and — ah!  I've  lost  that  fish,  and 
it  was  a  good  one,  too,"  ejaculated  Miss  Jule, 
stopping  her  story  as  the  line  tautened  and  hung 
loose  again.  "  One  thing,  I'm  quite  sure  by  the 
way  the  small  fish  dodge  about  that  there  are 
some  big  pickerel  here  that  keep  them  moving, 
and  we  shall  not  catch  any  pan  fish  for  luncheon." 

"But,  Miss  Jule,  what  became  of  the  old  woman 
when  her  land  was  sold,  and  why  did  they  call 
her  a  witch  ?  "  asked  Anne,  who  was  much  in 
terested. 

"  She  will  be  taken  care  of  at  the  town  farm, 
and  it's  not  such  a  bad  place,  either.  As  to  the 
name  of  Herb  Witch,  I  think  people  gave  it  to  her 
because  she  puzzled  them  by  going  about  the 
woods  at  all  times  of  day  and  night  and  gathering 
plants  they  thought  only  weeds.  Then  she  always 
minded  her  own  business,  and  never  complained, 
which  always  aggravates  people  who  do  not  do 
likewise." 

"  How  dreadful  to  be  old  and  have  to  leave 
home  and  go  and  live  in  a  poorhouse,  when  you've 
owned  all  this!  "  said  Anne,  stretching  out  her 
arms,  and  Miss  Letty,  looking  up,  suddenly  saw  a 
big  tear  roll  off  the  end  of  Anne's  nose  ;  for  to  her 
home  was  heaven,  and  the  thought  of  any  one's 
being  driven  from  theirs  seemed  unbearable. 


216  DOGTOWN 

At  that  minute  Miss  Jule,  with  a  flop,  jumped 
quickly  back  from  the  edge  of  the  pond,  landing 
in  some  alder  bushes,  and  with  finger  to  her  lips 
as  a  sign  for  silence,  pointed  to  an  object  in  the 
water.  It  was  a  monster  pickerel,  the  dreaded 
ogre  for  whom  all  little  bass,  perch,  and  trout  are 
taught  to  "watch  out"  as  soon  as  they  know 
enough  to  wiggle  their  tails  and  swim.  Lazily  it 
nosed  along  in  the  deep  shadows,  all  unconscious 
of  the  excitement  it  was  causing  on  shore. 

"I  wish  I  could  grasp  it,"  whispered  Miss 
Letty,  the  sporting  spirit  seizing  her. 

44  Yes,  and  perhaps  lose  your  fingers ;  Obi  nearly 
did  once,"  said  Anne. 

"  Bring  me  the  little  rifle  from  the  brake.  It's 
not  the  right  way  to  catch  fish,  but  I'll  make  an 
exception  for  this  old  cannibal,"  said  Miss  Jule, 
while  Anne  needed  no  second  telling,  darted  off 
and  was  quickly  back  again. 

The  rifle,  a  repeater,  was  soon  in  her  hands,  and 
as  Miss  Jule  loaded  it,  she  told  the  girls  to  stand 
back,  and  asked  Anne  to  put  the  landing  net  they 
had  brought  for  the  bass  that  did  not  bite,  close 
beside  her.  The  pickerel  crossed  the  sun  streak 
once  more.  Bang!  only  one  shot  was  needed.  Miss 
Jule  dropped  the  rifle,  seized  the  net,  and  a  pick 
erel  weighing  fully  eight  pounds  lay  upon  the  moss. 


A   HEN  PARTY  217 

The  other  girls  came  up  upon  hearing  the  noise, 
and  the  men  who  had  charge  of  the  horses,  all 
being  surprised  at  the  size  of  the  fish. 

"  We  will  have  it  for  luncheon,  if  Martin  will 
clean  it  for  us.  I  only  hope  that  Mr.  Hugh  will 
come  in  time  to  enjoy  it,"  said  Miss  Jule. 

Martin  was  one  of  Baldy's  brothers  ;  and  he 
not  only  cleaned  the  fish  nicely,  but  cutting  it  in 
quarters,  spread  it  open  for  broiling  with  a  clever 
arrangement  of  sweet  birch  twigs,  and  also  made 
a  grill  between  two  rocks,  filling  it  with  charcoal, 
a  bag  of  which  he  had  brought  for  the  gypsy  fire 
Mr.  Hugh  had  promised  to  build. 

"  Cousin  Hugh  says  that  he  is  going  to  put  up 
some  sort  of  a  little  lodge  on  this  new  land,  with 
a  big  fireplace,  so  that  people  can  come  here  and 
have  tea,  and  see  the  birds  and  things,  even  in 
winter;  and  in  summer  it  will  be  convenient  to 
have  it  to  go  into  if  showers  come  up.  He  said, 
too,  that  he  would  have  some  one  live  in  it  to  be 
a  sort  of  game-keeper  and  prevent  pot-hunters 
from  killing  the  birds." 

"How  lovely!"  sighed  Anne.  "Won't  it  be 
simply  perfect,  Miss  Letty  ?  " 

"  I  shall  probably  be  in  France  by  the  time  it  is 
built,"  she  replied;  for  one  of  her  contrary  fits  had 
been  hovering  over  Miss  Letty  all  day. 


218  DOGTOWN  • 

The  cool  morning  disappeared  in  a  sultry  noon. 
They  waited  dinner  as  long  as  their  hunger  made 
it  possible,  but  Mr.  Hugh  did  not  come.  Then, 
as  is  usual  at  picnics,  outdoors  and  dinner  com 
bined  to  bring  sleep.  Not  that  any  one  travelled  all 
the  way  to  dreamland,  but  they  all  sat  about  in 
blissful  silence,  watching  the  shadows  among  the 
trees  and  the  silent  molting  birds  flit  shyly  in  and 
out,  for  only  the  locusts  serenaded  them.  August 
is  the  voiceless  summer  month  in  the  woods ;  the 
spring  song  is  over,  and  the  young  of  the  year  are 
not  yet  trying  their  throats,  as  they  do  in  autumn. 

"  Four  o'clock  !  "  said  Miss  Jule,  sitting  up  sud 
denly,  and  giving  her  ticking-covered  hay  pillow  a 
vigorous  punch  —  Miss  Jule  always  had  a  dozen  of 
such  for  piazza,  hammock,  and  excursion  purposes. 
"  I  think  we  had  better  make  a  start ;  for  if  I'm 
not  mistaken,  there  are  what  Martin  calls  "  dunder 
heads  "  in  the  west,  and  we  do  not  wish  to  end 
the  day  by  running  all  the  seven  miles  home,  to 
escape  a  wetting." 

When  the  wagons  were  loaded,  and  they  all 
gathered  in  the  open  preparatory  to  starting,  the 
wind  had  veered,  and  the  black  clouds  were  hurry 
ing  off  toward  salt  water  again. 

"  Do  you  think  we  might  ride  our  wheels  home  ?  " 
said  Anne  to  Miss  Jule.  "  See,  the  road  is  shady 


A   HEN  PARTY  219 

for  a  mile  farther  up,  and  then  it  loops  around  the 
Ridge  to  the  turnpike,  and  it  is  down  grade  all  the 
rest  of  the  way." 

"  Yes  ;  please  do  let  us  ride,"  said  Elsa  Wil- 
loughby ;  "  for  I  sat  so  long  on  that  rock  sketching 
that  I  need  stretching  all  over." 

Miss  Jule  thought  a  minute,  looked  at  the  sky, 
and  said  :  "  The  shower  has  gone  round.  It's  a 
lonely  road,  to  be  sure ;  but  with  six  of  you  to 
gether  no  harm  can  happen,  and  even  if  you  loiter, 
you  will  be  at  home  before  supper  time."  So  the 
brake  and  Miss  Jule  started  off  one  way  and  the 
girls  on  their  wheels  the  other. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE   HERB   WITCH 

MILES  are  always  longer  when  you  travel  them 
than  when  you  talk  of  them.  For  this  reason,  as 
well  as  for  the  fact  that  Anne  had  miscalculated 
the  distance,  the  up-grade  road  to  Pine  Ridge 
seemed  endless. 

When  they  had  travelled  less  than  half  the  way, 
Anne's  cyclometer  said  two  miles,  and  Miss  Letty's 
wheel  began  to  bump  and  act  badly.  She  stopped 
to  find  the  cause,  thinking  that  the  front  tire  needed 
blowing  up;  but  to  her  dismay  she  found  that  it  was 
hopelessly  punctured  by  a  bent  horse-shoe  nail ! 

220 


THE   HERB   WITCH  221 

Anne  tried  to  mend  it  with  some  plaster  from 
her  tool  kit ;  but  it  was  old,  dry,  and  would  not 
stick.  If  they  turned  back,  the  road  home  would 
be  even  longer  than  to  keep  on ;  so,  after  a  long 
consultation,  held  under,  a  sign-post  that  offered 
no  consolation,  as  the  bridge  on  the  cross-road 
to  which  it  pointed  was  known  to  be  up,  they 
agreed  that  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to 
keep  on  and  lead  the  wheel,  Elsa  Willoughby  and 
Anne  offering  to  walk  to  bear  Miss  Letty  com 
pany;  the  others  to  ride  ahead  and  explain  the 
delay. 

"  Such  a  stupid  accident  !  "  said  Miss  Letty,  who 
felt  very  badly  at  upsetting  the  plan  of  a  swift 
down-hill  ride  home,  even  though  she  was  in  no 
way  to  blame. 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  we  can  do,"  said  Anne, 
brightening  up,  as  the  party  was  about  to  divide. 
44  Instead  of  going  up  around  the  Ridge  to  the 
turnpike,  we  can  cut  straight  across  the  fields. 
There  is  a  little  blacksmith's  shop  at  the  mill 
corner  where  they  do  all  sorts  of  tinkering  for 
the  farmers  that  go  by  to  town,  and  I'm  positive 
I've  seen  a  sign  4  Bicycles  repaired '  on  the  tree. 
There  are  bars  that  we  can  let  down  in  crossing 
lots  and  that  dead  tree  back  on  the  hilltop  will 
do  for  a  guide-post,  for  I  saw  it  from  the  other 


222  DOGTOWN 

side  this  morning  as  we  came  up.  *  Then  it  stood 
about  halfway  between  the  roads." 

This  seemed  the  most  sensible  thing  to  do  ;  and 
though  of  course  the  country  was  strange  both 
to  Miss  Letty  and  the  Willoughbys,  they  had 
entire  confidence  in  Anne.  So  the  bars  were 
dropped,  and  the  party  trooped  through  and 
crossed  the  field  diagonally,  keeping  the  dead  tree 
on  the  hilltop  well  in  front  of  them. 

" 1  don't  see  any  bars  in  that  fence  yonder,  but 
it's  old  and  tumble-down,  and  we  can  easily  lift 
the  wheels  over,"  said  Anne,  who  was  beginning  to 
feel  the  responsibility  of  what  she  had  undertaken. 

When  they  reached  the  fence,  however,  a  new 
difficulty  presented  itself —  the  old  rails  and  posts 
were  meshed  in  and  out  with  barbed  wire,  rusty, 
and  formidable  as  the  quills  of  an  angry  porcu 
pine. 

"  It  is  certain  that  we  can  neither  crawl  over, 
under,  or  through  that,"  said  Elsa  Willoughb}% 
speaking  decidedly,  and  evidently  feeling  rather 
bored. 

We  must  follow  the  fence  south,"  said  Anne, 
cheerfully  ;  "it  ends  somewhere,  you  know." 

For  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  they  went  on  with 
out  speaking.  It  is  not  easy  to  walk  through 
uneven,  briery  fields,  much  less  to  lead  bicycles. 


THE   HERB   WITCH  223 

"The  dead  tree  is  behind  us,  now,"  said  Miss 
Letty,  stopping  suddenly  ;  "  and  ought  we  not  to 
come  to  the  river  ?  We  must  cross  it  before  we 
reach  the  turnpike." 

"I  wonder  if  there  is  any  bridge  here  in  the 
fields  where  there  is  no  road  ? "  said  Martica, 
rather  sarcastically. 

"  Oh,  look  at  those  black  clouds  !  "  cried  Louise, 
"  They  have  whirled  about  and  are  coming  directly 
toward  us." 

Then  for  the  first  time  Anne  realized  that  not 
only  was  she  uncertain  of  her  whereabouts,  but 
that  they  were  likely  to  be  overtaken  by  the  fury 
of  a  summer  storm  ;  for  the  clouds  were  followed 
by  a  yellow  underscud  whose  meaning  she  well 
understood. 

"  At  most  we  can  only  get  a  wetting,"  said 
Miss  Letty,  putting  her  arm  around  Anne  ;  her 
sunny  disposition  conquering  her  feeling  of  alarm, 
when  she  saw  her  friend's  distress.  "  I'm  sure 
that  I  heard  a  dog  bark,  too  ;  and  if  there  is  a  dog 
near  by,  there  must  be  a  house." 

"  Here  is  the  end  of  the  barbed  wire  fence," 
called  Anne,  who  had  been  hurrying  ahead ;  "  and 
a  pent  lane  leads  from  it.  As  this  is  the  inside 
end,  if  we  follow  it,  we  must  get  somewhere  ;  for 
there  are  ever  so  many  roads  like  these  that  run 


224 

from  the  turnpike  into  back  lots  and  woodlands. 
I  think  we  would  all  better  keep  in  the  middle 
of  the  lane  away  from  the  trees,"  she  added,  as  a 
flash  of  lightning  almost  dazzled  her.  "  Father 
says  it  is  always  best  to  keep  in  the  open  if  you 
are  out  in  a  storm." 

"  Do  you  know  where  you  are  going,  or  are  we 
lost  ?  "  asked  Elsa  Willoughby,  shortly. 

"  If  we  had  kept  on  the  road,  Miss  Jule  would 
find  us,  for  she  will  surely  send  back  for  us  when 
she  sees  the  storm  coming  ;  but  here  no  one  will 
know  where  we  are,"  said  Martica,  wrenching 
herself  free  from  a  strong  catbrier  vine. 

"  I'm  trying  to  go  toward  the  turnpike,"  replied 
Anne,  in  a  shaking  voice,  "  but  —  Before  she 
could  finish  they  heard  the  bark  again,  this  time 
close  ahead ;  but  it  had  a  tired,  discouraged  sound, 
and  was  not  at  all  aggressive. 

"I  see  him,"  said  Miss  Letty,  joyfully;  "it's  a 
collie,  too.  There  must  be  a  farm  somewhere 
near." 

As  they  reached  the  dog  it  stopped  its  feeble 
barking,  but  did  not  move. 

"  Don't  go  near  him,  he  may  bite,"  cried  Louise  ; 
and  the  four  Willoughbys  huddled  close  to  a  big 
chestnut  tree  in  spite  of  Anne's  warning. 

"  Something  is  the  matter  with  that  dog.    I  won- 


THE    HERB    WITCH  225 

der  what  it  can  be,"  said  Anne,  half  to  herself,  as 
she  walked  slowly  up  to  him,  talking  familiarly  as 
she  would  to  Waddles  or  any  friendly  fourfoot, 
Miss  Letty  following  her  closely. 

"  I  see !  One  hind  foot  is  caught  in  a  fox  trap, 
and  —  yes,  he  has  broken  the  chain  and  tried  to 
get  away,  only  to  have  it  caught  on  a  stump  again, 
and  he  is  weak  with  hunger.  Poor  fellow,  we 
will  take  the  trap  off,  and  perhaps  you  will  be  so 
good  as  to  take  us  home  with  you." 

"  Poor  fellow,"  seemed  to  have  a  bad  opinion 
of  people,  and  to  doubt  their  intentions;  for  he 
drew  back  his  upper  lip,  showing  his  teeth,  and 
then  seeming  to  be  utterly  exhausted,  sank  down 
upon  the  ground  with  a  pitiful  whine. 

"  I  will  hold  his  collar  if  you  can  unsnap  the 
trap,"  said  Anne,  turning  a  white,  determined  face 
to  Miss  Letty ;  while  the  others  protested  that  if 
he  was  freed,  they  should  all  be  bitten. 

"  Push  down  the  spring  and  put  your  foot  on 
the  grip  crosswise,"  continued  Anne,  "  and  I  will 
pull  out  the  paw.  What  if  poor  little  Jill  was 
caught  this  way  and  starved  to  death." 

Miss  Letty  made  two  efforts  before  she  suc 
ceeded.  Fortunately  the  bone  was  not  broken, 
though  the  flesh  was  cut  and  bruised.  As  the 
collie  gave  a  sigh  of  relief,  Anne  ventured  to  rub 
Q 


226  DOGTOWN 

the  paw  gently  with  the  tips  of  her  fingers,  to  start 
the  blood  in  circulation  again.  This  eased  the  poor 
animal  so  much  that  he  licked  her  fingers,  and, 
scrambling  to  his  feet,  began  to  limp  painfully 
away  down  the  lane. 

"  Stack  your  wheels  under  that  chestnut  tree," 
said  Anne,  in  a  tone  of  command  that  gave  the 
others  courage,  "  and  we  will  follow  this  dog.  We 
can  easily  send  for  the  wheels,  and  no  one  will  steal 
them  here." 

The  lane  soon  became  wider  and  more  open, 
which  was  encouraging;  but  this  also  gave  them 
a  better  view  of  the  lurid  sky,  and  did  not  show 
the  stream  that  they  must  cross  before  they 
reached  the  highroad. 

"  There  is  a  hen  and  some  chickens  under  that 
shed  and  where  these  are  there  are  usually 
people  near,"  said  Miss  Letty,  peering  over  the 
vine-tangled  wall. 

"  There  is  a  house,"  cried  Anne,  at  the  very 
moment  that  the  squall  struck  the  bushes  beyond 
and  launched  a  shower  of  raindrops  so  squarely 
in  her  eyes  that  she  was  blinded  for  a  moment. 

A  house  it  surely  was,  and  doubtless  at  one 
time  substantial,  but  now  scarcely  more  than 
a  house  in  name;  for  the  tops  of  the  tall 
chimney  were  crumbling,  half  the  window-panes 


THE   HERB  WITCH 


227 


were    broken,    and    one    side    sash    was    wholly 
missing. 

Still  the  jumble  of  red  day-lilies,  bluebells,  and 
trumpet- vine  in  the  pathless  garden  made  it  look 
cheerful,  and 
any  shelter  was 
welcome. 

"We  must 
have  been  going 
round  in  a  cir 
cle,"  said  Anne, 
as  she  fumbled 
with  a  rusty 
iron  hoop  that 
held  the  gate 
fast.  "The 
dead  tree  is  in 
front  again,  and 
this  must  be 
the  old  house  that  the  Herb  Witch  lived  in  before 
she  went  to  the  town  farm." 

As  Anne  opened  the  gate,  the  collie,  who  for 
the  moment  had  been  forgotten,  slipped  past,  and 
hobbling  across  the  yard  scratched  at  the  side 
door. 

"  There  must  be  some  one  living  here,  then," 
said  Anne,  and  following  the  dog  she  knocked 


228 


DOGTOWN 


twice,  briskly.  There  was  no  answer,  though  she 
was  sure  that  she  heard  footsteps,  and  a  light 
puff  of  smoke  from  the  least  tumble-down  chim 
ney  told  that  the  house  was  inhabited. 

Anne  began  to  feel  very  uncomfortable,  and 
Elsa  Willoughby  whispered,  "Suppose  this  is  a 
tramp's  camp  ?  "  A  perfectly  natural  remark,  but 
one  that  was  not  comforting. 

The  collie  scratched  again,  and  then  gave  two 
sharp  barks.  Instantly  there  was  a  quick  tapping 
sound  inside,  as  of  a  stick  on  the  floor,  the  door 
opened  in  with  a  bang,  a  weak  hinge  giving  way 
at  the  pull,  while  a  gaunt  female  figure  leaning  on 


THE   HERB   WITCH  229 

a  crutch  clasped  the  clog  in  her  arms,  hugging  him 
and  crying:  "My  laddie,  my  laddie,  and  I  thought 
they  had  taken  ye,  when  ye  stayed  agone  three 
nights,  and  when  I  heard  the  shot  this  noon  I 
thought  they  had  killed  ye  certy." —  It  was  the 
Herb  Witch  herself  ! 


A  flash  and  crash  followed  by  a  gust  of  rain 
made  Anne  step  forward,  and  as  quickly  as  pos 
sible  ask  for  shelter.  When  the  woman  saw  the 
party,  her  face  grew  rigid  again  and,  for  a  mo 
ment,  it  seemed  as  if  she  would  close  the  door; 
then  she  changed  her  mind,  and  opening  it  as 
wide  as  the  broken  hinge  would  allow,  said,  "  Walk 
in,  leddies." 

The  door  opened  directly  into  a  low,  square 
room.  At  first  it  was  so  dark  that  the  girls  could 
distinguish  nothing,  then  as  their  eyes  became 
accustomed  to  the  dimness,  a  few  chairs,  a  table, 
and  a  small  stove  set  in  the  wide,  open  fireplace, 
were  outlined.  The  room  was  bare  and  poor,  but 
very  clean. 

The  old  woman,  after  feeding  the  dog  from  a 
pot  that  was  on  the  hearth,  returned,  and  stood 
by  the  window,  the  dog  behind  her,  after  motion 
ing  her  guests  to  be  seated;  but  she  did  not  speak, 


230  DOGTOWN 

or  ask  a  question  as  to  from  whence  they  came,  or 
whither  they  were  bound.  She  might  have  been 
accustomed  to  have  six  girls  come  every  day,  for 
any  surprise  she  showed.  The  silence  became 
embarrassing,  until  Anne,  partly  to  break  it,  and 
partly  because  the  chairs  fell  short,  sat  down  on 
the  floor  by  the  collie,  and  began  to  talk  to  him, 
and  through  him  to  his  mistress,  in  her  coaxing 
way  that  no  one  could  withstand. 

"  Tell  your  missy  where  we  found  you,  and  how 
the  wicked  trap  pinched  your  foot,"  she  crooned, 
scratching  him  under  his  chin  until  he  rolled  over 
on  his  back  with  a  contentedly  foolish  expression. 

"  And  did  yer  find  him  trapped,  and  loose  him, 
little  leddie  ?  I  didn't  mind  his  foot  was  hurt, 
my  eyes  are  so  poor  and  farsome."  Her  speech 
was  fascinating,  wholly  unlike  the  harsh  country 
dialect ;  and  yet  only  now  a'nd  then  did  she  use  a 
Scotch  phrase. 

Thus  encouraged,  Anne  told  the  story  of  the 
day's  adventures,  punctuated  now  and  then  by 
promptings  from  the  others,  until  she  had  said 
really  more  than  she  intended,  and  the  old  woman 
knew  that  her  guests  had  heard  at  least  one  side 
of  the  tale  of  her  misfortune. 

Then  the  sight  of  young  faces  around  her  seemed 
to  warm  her  lonely  heart  and  loosen  her  tongue. 


THE    HERB   WITCH  231 

"  Yes,"  she  said  presently,  but  with  no  trace  of 
complaint  in  her  voice,  "  the  place  was  sold  a 
month  gone  to  pay  the  taxes.  The  same  being  law 
and  justice,  I'll  not  complain.  And  I  by  rights 
would  be  gone  as  well,  but  for  Laddie  here ;  and 
as  it  is,  I'm  but  a  trespasser. 

"  I'd  to  deal  with  but  the  few  chicks  you  saw 
out  yonder,  a  sick  pup,  and  an  old  cow  that  pas 
tures  behind  on  —  the  Lord  forgive  me  !  —  what's 
mine  no  longer ;  when  the  night  before  the  day 
I  was  to  go  yonder,"  pointing  north  to  where 
the  poor  farm  lay,  "  Laddie,  he  disappeared. 

"  I'd  not  paid  his  tax,  and  so  the  law  was 
against  him.  Leastway,  the  bit  I'd  saved  to  pay 
it  was  made  way  with  by  the  lad  I  sent  it  to  the 
town  clerk  by,  and  I'd  no  way  to  earn  more  —  the 
lameness  being  too  hard  for  me  to  pick  and  peddle 
berries  down  the  turnpike.  What  with  that  fear 
before  me,  and  knowing  he'd  taken  a  chick  a  week 
agone  from  some  one,  being  sore  tempted  to  find 
meat,  I  was  worried  in  deed  and  truth.  If  he's 
dead,  said  I,  his  troubles  be  over;  but  if  held  in 
bond,  and  breaking  loose  he  comes  home,  and  me 
away,  he'll  just  pine  away  and  starve,  slow  and 
pitiful. 

"  But  noo,"  she  continued,  trying  to  make  her 
voice  sound  cheery,  "  he's  come,  and  to  the  favour 


232  DOGTOWN 

of  your  loosing  him  I'm  minded  to  ask  another. 
As  you  know  dogs'  ways,  little  leddie,  will  ye  take 
him  with  ye,  and  give  him  his  keep  his  life  out  ? 
It'll  not  be  long,  for  he's  turning  ten,  and  has'na 
had  a  full  stomach  these  last  years.  Will  ye, 
leddie  ?  I'm  sorrowful  not  to  gi'  him  free  o'  the 
tax,  but  it's  the  first  and  last  favour  Jane  Carr 
asks  o'  any  one.  Ye  will.  God  bless  you,  child  ! 
Now  to-morrow  the  old  4  Herb  Witch  '  will  move 
on." 

It  was  all  Anne  could  do  to  keep  from  breaking 
down  and  crying  aloud.  Miss  Letty  did  not  even 
try,  and  Elsa  Willoughby  wiped  her  eyes  hastily, 
forgetting  that  she  had  used  her  handkerchief  that 
morning  to  cleanse  her  paint-brushes.  So  inter 
ested  had  they  all  been  that  an  hour  passed  unno 
ticed,  and  with  it  the  storm. 

"  But,"  —  stammered  Anne,  trying  to  steady 
her  voice,  "  where  is  the  sick  puppy  ?  Don't  you 
want  us  to  take  that  too  ?  " 

"You'd  best  take  it,certy;  but  it's  not  mine,  and 
you  may  likely  seek  out  the  owner,  for  it's  a  well- 
favoured  little  hussy,  and  affectionsome,  though 
flighty,  if  I  make  no  mistake.  Ten  days  back 
Laddie  came  in  barking  and  making  signs  for  me 
to  follow,  for  he  has  speech,  has  Laddie,  or  I 
mistake." 


THE   HERB   WITCH  233 

"  So  has  Waddles,"  said  Anne,  sympathetically. 

"  Weel,  I  hobbled  down  the  lane  length  to  where 
the  old  fence  lies  that's  bound  with  that  fear 
some  wire." 

"  We  know  that  fence,"  said  the  girls,  so  com 
pletely  in  chorus  that  a  smile  actually  wrinkled 
the  old  woman's  features. 

"  A  rod  farther  down  Laddie  led  me,  and  then 
stood  still.  Before  him  was  a  little  animal  meshed 
in  the  wire.  I  thought  it  a  rabbit;  next  I  saw 
it  was  a  pup  that  like  had  been  chased  by  a 
wild  cat,  — oh,  yes,  there's  a  few  here  yet,  —  and 
held  by  the  barbs.  I  unloosed  the  pup,  Laddie 
a-givin'  me  orders  all  the  while." 

"  Just  like  Waddles,"  ejaculated  Anne  again. 

"I  took  the  wee  thing  home  and  washed  its 
wounds  with  herbs  I  well  know  the  worth  of,  and 
now  it  hardly  shows  a  scar.  I've  kept  it  close, 
mostly  in  the  bedroom  yonder,  for  fear  those  who 
bear  me  ill  might  say  I  stole  it,  and  lay  hands  on 
it  and  keep  it  from  its  lawful  owners,  and  work  me 
worse  ill,  for  it's  as  fine  a  little  she  beagle  as  ever 
my  eyes  lit  on,  and  I've  seen  many  in  the  old 
land." 

"  Beagle,"  said  Anne  and  Miss  Letty  together, 
as  Jane  Carr  threw  open  the  door  of  a  small  room 
which  was  nearly  filled  by  a  large  bed  with  a  blue 


234  DOGTOWN 

and  white  spread.  Upon  this  bed,  with  her  head 
resting  comfortably  on  the  only  pillow,  lay  Jill 
Waddles  ! 

Anne  fell  upon  Jill  and  hugged  her,  for  it  was 
a  relief  to  feel  that  the  little  creature  had  not 
starved  to  death,  in  spite  of  her  ungrateful  behav 
iour.  But  Jill  merely  yawned,  jumped  down  from 
the  bed,  ambled  about  prettily  with  her  head  on 
one  side,  but  retired  under  the  old  woman's  skirt 
when  Anne  tried  to  take  her  up. 

"She  has  adopted  Mrs.  Carr,"  said  Miss  Letty, 
laughing,  while  the  old  woman  stood  amazed,  say 
ing,  "  Weel,  weel,  the  ways  and  freaks  o'  she  ani 
mals  is  yet  to  be  accounted." 

Explanations  followed.  "  You  see  that  I  owe 
you  two  weeks'  board  for  her,"  said  Anne,  gaily, 
"  and  that  will  pay  Laddies'  license,  so  he  will  be 
a  free  gift." 

"  But  she  shan't  leave,  she  shan't  lose  the  dog," 
she  added,  under  her  breath,  to  Miss  Letty,  who 
answered,  "  Of  course  not,  if  we  can  only  manage 
to  keep  her  here  a  few  days  longer  to  gain  time,  so 
that  we  can  tell  Miss  Jule." 

"  I  have  it,"  said  Anne,  and  then  turning  she 
said :  "  Will  you  kindly  stay  here  until  day  after 
to-morrow,  to  please  me,  Mrs.  Carr  ?  Then  father 
and  I  will  drive  up  in  the  morning  and  take  Jill 


THE   HERB   WITCH  235 

home.  I  know  Mr.  Hugh,  who  has  bought  the 
land,  he's  a  very  particular  friend  of  mine  and 
Waddles's,  and  I'll  tell  him  that  I  asked  you." 

Mrs.  Carr  was  only  too  glad  of  an  honourable 
day's  reprieve.  Then,  as  the  sun  almost  at  setting, 
shone  through  the  window,  Anne  opened  the  door 
and  said  that  they  must  get  their  wheels  and  go 
on,  for  she  had  been  so  excited  by  what  had  passed 
that  she  was  now  doubly  anxious  lest  those  at 
home  should  worry. 

"  Leddies,  would  ye  —  "  began  Mrs.  Carr,  hesi 
tating,  "  would  ye  drink  a  cup  of  tea  with  me 
before  ye  go?  It'll  not  take  a  minute,  and  it's 
likely  the  last  time  I'll  be  offer' n  it  to  company," 
she  added  with  grim  humour. 

Anne  accepted  the  invitation  promptly  with  her 
fine  breeding,  not  giving  the  Willoughbys  a  chance 
to  demur.  A  brush  fire  was  burning  in  the  stove, 
and  Anne  saw  by  the  heap  of  faggots  outside 
how  the  woods  had  been  kept  clear  of  underbrush. 

The  Herb  Witch  opened  a  narrow  cupboard  by 
the  chimney  and,  as  she  did  so,  they  caught  sight 
of  a  dozen  or  so  bits  of  old  Lowestoft  china,  a  tea 
pot,  cream  pitcher,  caddy,  and  half  a  dozen  cups 
and  saucers. 

"  How  beautiful ! "  exclaimed  Martica  Wil- 
loughby,  who  "collected."  "Do  you  know  that 


236  DOGTOWN 

those  are  valuable  ?  Why  don't  you  sell  them  ?  " 
she  continued  indiscreetly. 

Miss  Letty  declared  afterward  that  the  Herb 
Witch  suddenly  grew  so  tall  that  she  thought  that 
her  head  would  bump  against  the  ceiling,  as  she 
answered :  "  Those  same  are  my  self-respect.  When 
I've  been  tormented  to  beg  and  ask  favours,  I 
opened  that  door  and  looked  at  the  bits  that  come 
from  afar  with  me,  and  I  minded  those  I  came  from, 
and  whose  will  I  crossed  to  my  hurt.  If  ye  sell 
your  self-respect,  leddy,  that's  to  be  the  real  pau 
per,"  and  poor  Martica  forgot  her  college-bred 
sufficiency  for  once,  and  mumbled  an  apology. 

Quickly  the  tea  was  drawn,  only  Anne  noticing 
that  it  was  the  last  in  the  caddy,  and  the  sugar 
the  last  in  the  bowl,  and  Mrs.  Carr  taking  a  small 
loaf  from  a  stone  jar  cut  it  in  thin  slices  and  spread 
them  with  wild  plum  jam,  from  the  same  closet 
where  there  still  remained  a  few  pots.  "  I'm  out 
of  butter,  as  it  haps,"  she  said  dryly. 

The  tea  was  delicious  and  every  one  enjoyed  it 
heartily.  Anne  was  standing  by  the  door  with  a 
second  "janwich,"  as  she  always  called  the  com 
bination,  in  her  hand  when  wheels  came  up  the 
lane,  a  horse  stopped  suddenly,  and  a  figure  sprang 
from  the  runabout,  vaulted  over  the  rickety  gate 
that  the  rain  had  made  still  more  difficult  to  open, 


THE   HERB   WITCH  237 

and  strode  up  the  walk.  It  was  Mr.  Hugh,  and  he 
wore  what  Anne  had  always  called  his  "  would- 
like-to-break-something  "  expression. 

It  flashed  through  her  brain  that  he  was  either 
vexed  at  finding  the  Herb  Witch  still  in  the  house, 
or  that  he  blamed  her  in  some  way  for  their  deten 
tion.  She  never  knew  exactly  why  she  did  it,  but 
the  moment  he  reached  the  door  and  opened  his 
lips  to  speak  she  thrust  the  bit  of  bread  and  jam 
between  his  lips,  calling  gaily  :  "  You  are  just  in 
time,  it's  perfectly  delicious,  and  the  very  last 
piece,  too.  Please,  Mrs.  Carr,  do  you  think  that 
you  could  coax  one  more  cup  of  tea  from  that  duck 
of  a  pot?  It's  Mr.  Hugh,  you  know,  and  he's 
come  to  look  for  us." 

Astonished  as  he  was  and  gagged  with  bread 
and  jam,  Mr.  Hugh's  anxiety  and  anger  disap 
peared  at  the  same  moment,  for  both  he  and  Miss 
Jule,  who  had  driven  completely  around  the  cir 
cuit  without  finding  the  party,  feared  they  might 
have  tried  to  cross  the  river  at  the  disabled  bridge 
which  had  disappeared  altogether  at  the  rush  of 
the  suddenly  swollen  stream,  arid  his  turning  into 
the  lane  at  all  had  been  quite  an  accident. 

Instantly  there  was  a  confusion  of  tongues,  and 
poor  Mr.  Hugh;s  brain  whirled  as  he  heard  the 
words  :  "  punctured  tire,"  "across  the  fields,"  "hor- 


238  DOGTOWN 

rid  barbed  wire  fence,"  "  dead  tree  that  kept  mov 
ing,"  "  Laddie  in  trap,"  "  license  money  stolen," 
"  dear  old  china,"  "  such  delicious  tea,"  "  saved  Jill 
Waddles  from  starving  to  death,"  "  thunder  and 
lightning,"  "  chestnut  tree,"  etc.,  each  sentence 
coming  from  a  different  person.  Nor  was  his 
bewilderment  lessened  by  the  sight  of  the  Witch 
herself,  leaning  on  her  crutch  by  the  chimney 
closet,  dignified  and  silent,  the  very  reverse  of  the 
whining  beggar,  half  lunatic,  half  tramp,  that  she 
had  been  represented. 

His  first  idea  was  to  relieve  Miss  Jule's  mind 
and  get  the  girls  safely  home,  his  second  was  to 
apologize  to  Mrs.  Carr  for  his  evident  misunder 
standing  and  abrupt  entrance. 

"  You  can  tell  me  all  about  it  on  the  way 
home,"  he  said  to  the  group  at  large.  "  Elsa,  your 
mother  is  nearly  frantic  about  you  all  ;  fortu 
nately  Miss  Jule  expected  to  keep  Anne  at  the 
Hill  Farm  all  night,  so  her  mother  knows  nothing 
about  the  matter. 

"  The  wheels  are  up  under  that  chestnut  ? 
Very  well,  we  will  ask  Mrs.  Carr  to  keep  the 
lame  one  until  it  can  be  called  for  to-morrow; 
its  owner  will  have  to  drive  with  me,  and  the 
rest  ride,  at  least,  as  far  as  the  blacksmith's  on 
the  turnpike,  for  it  will  be  dark  before  I  can 


The  Herb  Witch. 


THE   HERB    WITCH  241 

send  the  horses  back  here.  Whose  wheel  was 
disabled?" 

"  Miss  Letty's,"  said  Martica  Willoughby,  "  and 
I  should  think  she  would  be  thankful  to  drive 
home,  for  it  was  hard  enough  for  us  to  lead  our 
wheels  through  all  that  stubble;  but  her  front  tire 
was  so  flat  she  almost  had  to  carry  hers." 

Miss  Letty  got  into  the  runabout  without  more 
ado,  having  the  tact  not  to  make  a  fuss,  and  offer 
to  ride  Martica's  wheel.  Mr.  Hugh  bowed  pleas 
antly  to  Mrs.  Carr,  who  came  to  the  gate,  drawing 
her  cloak  about  her,  —  the  same  one  that  Anne  re 
membered,  —  and  led  the  way  down  the  lane,  cross 
ing  the  river,  which  was  narrow  and  swift  just 
there,  a  couple  of  hundred  feet  west  of  the  house. 

When  they  reached  the  highway  they  held  a 
short  consultation,  and  it  was  agreed  the  cyclists 
should  lead  home.  As  they  were  about  to  start 
Anne  cried,  "  Look !  "  and  waved  her  handker 
chief  toward  the  rising  ground  around  which  the 
lane  had  curved.  There,  upon  the  stubbly  hill 
side,  with  her  crutch  before  her  and  Laddie  by 
her  side,  sat  Mrs.  Carr,  watching  them  on  their 
way,  her  witchlike  hood  pointing  toward  the 
sky,  but  a  weary  sort  of  smile  upon  her  wan  face, 
while  behind  her,  against  the  distant  horizon,  was 
the  dead  tree  still  in  front  of  them. 


242  DOGTOWN 

"  I  wish  you  would  have  that  old  tree  cut  down, 
Mr.  Hugh,"  laughed  Anne  over  her  shoulder,  as 
she  shot  ahead  ;  "  it's  in  the  middle  of  everywhere, 
and  like  Robin  Hood's  barn,  you  go  round  and 
round  it,  but  you  never  get  there." 


Mr.  Hugh  and  his  companion  drove  along  for 
a  while  in  silence,  then  Miss  Letty,  forgetting  her 
self,  said  half  aloud,  "  I  wonder  what  led  you  into 
that  lane  ?  " 

"Geese,"  said  Mr.  Hugh,  at  which  astonishing 
remark  they  both  laughed,  and  the  ice  began  to 
melt  as  he  explained  it  by  saying  that  as  he  was 
hurrying  along  the  highway,  a  flock  of  geese  sud 
denly  waddled  across  the  road  a  few  feet  ahead 
with  much  hissing  and  flapping  of  wings,  whereat 
Artful,  his  horse,  being  full  of  good  spirits  and 
oats,  shied  to  the  right,  and  made  a  bolt  down  the 
lane,  which  his  driver  had  not  even  noticed.  Be 
ing  once  there  he  recognized  it  as  the  north  boun 
dary  of  his  new  land,  forgot  that  it  did  not  run 
from  road  to  road,  remembered  the  old  house 
which  he  thought  empty,  and  took  the  stray 
chance  of  the  girls  having  taken  a  short  cut. 
"  All  of  which  proves  that  accidents  are  sometimes 
lucky  things,"  he  added. 


THE   HERB   WITCH  243 

"  I  wish  my  accident  might  bring  some  luck  to 
Mrs.  Carr,"  said  Miss  Letty,  simply,  and  then  she 
told  the  story  of  the  afternoon,  her  musical  voice 
giving  it  pathos,  and  as  she  wholly  forgot  herself, 
a  little  foreign  accent  crept  in  her  speech  that 
made  it  more  appealing. 

"  I  certainly  won't  turn  her  out,  I  give  you  my 
word  for  that,"  said  Mr.  Hugh,  earnestly,  "  I've 
tried  time  and  again  to  see  her.  How  can  we 
handle  her  ?  Her  pride  and  the  old  tea  caddy  will 
not  feed  and  clothe  her,  and  the  house  is  only  fit 
for  bats."  Mr.  Hugh  had  a  warm  heart,  but  he 
was  very  practical. 

"  I  could  manage  the  clothes,  I  think,"  said  Miss 
Letty,  shyly.  "  I've  got  plenty  of  pocket  money, 
for  there  is  nothing  to  buy  about  here ;  the  bon 
bons  are  atrocious — all  made  of  glue.  I  could  ask 
her  to  make  me  jam  in  exchange.  You  see  she 
makes  four  kinds  from  wild  fruit,  and  I  adore 
jam."  In  some  things  Letty  was  younger  than 
Anne. 

"  But  when  you  have  finished  your  visit  and 
gone  back  to  France,  what  about  her  clothes 
then?"  persisted  Mr.  Hugh,  not  realizing  that 
he  was  teasing  her. 

"I  forgot,"  was  all  she  said,  but  her  head 
drooped,  for  Miss  Letty  was  warm-hearted,  but 


244  DOGTOWN 

not  altogether  practical ;  but  few  people  are  at 
eighteen. 

In  a  moment,  however,  she  redeemed  herself  by 
saying. suddenly,  looking  ahead  as  if  speaking  of 
something  she  saw,  "  I  have  it,  Miss  Elsa  said  that 
you  were  going  to  build  a  small  house  somewhere 
on  the  new  land,  where  you  and  your  friends 
could  build  a  fire  in  cold  weather,  and  cook  supper 
or  have  afternoon  tea,  and  that  you  would  keep 
a  man  in  it  to  protect  the  game." 

"  Yes,  I'm  going  to  build  at  once,  for  every  bird 
and  flower  will  be  killed  or  carried  away  if  I  do 
not  take  care;  but  if  the  land  is  protected,  I  am 
more  than  willing  to  have  the  villagers  use  it  for 
their  outings,  say  two  days  a  week  in  summer 
time." 

"  The  very  thing,"  continued  Letty,  growing 
more  earnest,  "  cut  through  the  lane  from  road  to 
road,  and  make  a  new  street  in  Dogtown,  then 
put  a  gate  in  the  middle  ;  that  will  be  by  the  Herb 
Witch's  old  house.  Make  the  house  warm  and 
snug,  clear  out  the  old  garden  paths,  and  then 
use  it  for  a  gate-house.  Let  the  game  protector 
man  live  there  as  company  for  Mrs.  Carr,  and 
make  her  the  gate-keeper.  In  France  the  gate 
keepers  at  many  estates  are  the  old  women. 
Then  such  pay  as  you  may  give  her  can  be  eked 


THE   HERB   WITCH  245 

out  by  allowing  her  to  sell  tea  and  bread,  jam 
and  cookies  to  the  picnickers,  and  she  can  always 
cook  your  supper  when  you  wish.  That  kitchen 
with  the  wide  chimney  would  make  a  charming 
room.  I  can  see  it  now  with  blue  and  white  paper 
and  dark  furniture.  She  would  be  independent 
too,  poor  soul.  You  know  what  Anne  said 
about  the  dead  tree  and  Robin  Hood's  barn? 
Bien  —  let  us  call  the  house  Robin  Hood's  Inn, 
because  it  sheltered  us  when  we  were  on  the  way 
to  nowhere." 

"  Good  work,"  cried  Mr.  Hugh,  clapping  his 
hands  so  enthusiastically  that  he  nearly  dropped 
the  reins,  and  Artful  took  another  skirmish.  "  If 
all  is  satisfactory  when  I  go  up  there  to-morrow 
I  will  begin  work  next  Monday.  Do  you  know, 
I'm  awfully  obliged  to  you,  Miss  Letty.  I'm  a  slow 
fellow  for  thinking  out  things,  and  two  heads  are 
better  than  one,  though  this  idea  came  from  only 
one,  and  that's  yours.  Hullo,  where  are  we 
going  ?  "  For  in  their  eagerness  they  had  passed 
the  Hill  Farm  and  were  spinning  down  hill. 

When  they  had  turned  back,  Miss  Jule  met 
them  at  the  gate,  saying,  "All's  well  that  ends 
well ;  but  I  was  afraid  just  now  that  Artful  was 
running  away." 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  Mr.  Hugh,  "  we  were  having  a 


246 


DOGTOWN 


most  interesting  conversation,  and  if  you  will  ask 
me  in  to  tea  you  shall  pass  upon  our  scheme." 

"  I'm  sorry  you  had  to  ride  home  with  the  Great 
Bear,"  said  Anne,  innocently,  as  they  went  up 
stairs  to  get  ready  for  supper.  "  I  love  to  drive 
with  Mr.  Hugh,  he  is  teaching  me  the  names  of 
all  the  rocks." 

"  There  are  bears  and  bears,"  replied  Miss  Letty, 
smiling  to  herself  in  the  mirror.  "  Also  geese  that 
make  good  guide-posts." 


CHAPTER   X 

TOLD   BY  THE    FIRE 

BEFORE  flocking  swallows  and  cool  nights  told 
that  September  had  come  in  a-tiptoe,  the  Herb 
Witch's  house  had  been  restored,  and  christened 
"  Robin  Hood's  Inn,"  and  even  the  thought  of  the 
poor-farm  banished  from  the  old  woman's  mind. 

It  had  been  a  very  easy  matter  rearranging  the 
house,  which  had  a  solid  frame  ;  new  floors, 
shingles,  window-glass,  and  pretty  wall-papers, 
chosen  by  Miss  Letty  and  Anne,  working  a  won 
derful  transformation  within,  while  a  week's  well- 
directed  efforts  of  a  couple  of  men  restored  the 
garden  to  its  quaintness  without  spoiling  it. 

Mrs.  Carr  herself  was  much  more  difficult  to 
handle,  so  anxious  was  she  not  to  accept  anything 
for  which  she  could  not  render  service  in  return. 
Miss  Jule  and  Mr.  Hugh  had  planned  very 
wisely,  but,  after  all,  it  was  Anne  herself  who 
broke  through  the  crust  of  pride  that  held  the 
old  woman  so  close  in  its  grip. 

247 


248  DOGTOWN 

The  day  after  the  thunder-storm,  when  Anne 
had  gone  with  Mr.  Hugh  to  bring  Jill  home,  that 
contrary  young  beagle  had  absolutely  declined  to 
go  with  her  mistress,  and,  after  struggling,  bark 
ing,  arid  growling  in  puppy  rage,  slipped  her  head 
through  her  collar,  jumped  from  Anne's  arms,  and 
ran  up  and  hid  in  the  attic  that  was  littered  with 
rubbish  and  drying  herbs. 

Such  a  strong  attachment  from  a  capricious 
little  animal  like  Jill  argued  well  for  Mrs.  Carr's 
influence  over  dogs,  as  did  the  nicely  healed 
wounds  made  by  the  barbed  wire  for  her  medical 
skill  and  care,  and  a  new  idea  came  to  both  Mr. 
Hugh  and  Miss  Jule.  They  frequently  had  dogs, 
both  young  and  old,  who  needed  some  special 
attention  or  petting  that  it  was  impossible  to 
give  them  in  the  kennels,  or  in  the  little  house 
that  stood  apart  and  was  called  the  hospital. 
One  of  the  old  orchards  could  be  fenced,  and  a 
small  building  put  in  the  corner  near  by  Robin 
Hood's  Inn,  the  whole  to  be  used  as  a  sort  of  dog's 
excursion  resort,  for  those  who  needed  a  change, 
Mrs.  Carr  being  in  charge  of  it. 

Anne  begged  leave  to  tell  the  news  to  the  old 
woman.  At  first  Mrs.  Carr  was  about  to  exclaim 
in  delight  at  the  prospect  of  so  much  dog  com 
panionship,  then  her  habitual  distrust  seemed 


TOLD    BY   THE   FIRE  249 

about  to  settle  as  she  said,  "  I  only  hopes  it's  for 
their  own  good  and  not  mine  they  ha'  planned  it ; 
I  wish  I  cauld  be  main  sure." 

Then  at  last  Anne  rose  up  with  almost  a  stamp 
of  impatience,  and  folding  her  hands  before  her, 
looked  the  questioner  straight  in  the  face,  saying : 
"Mrs.  Carr,  I'm  disappointed  in  you,  you  are  just 
as  pernickerty  as  you  can  be,  and  stingy  beside. 
Perhaps  you  don't  know  what  '  pernickerty ' 
means,  because  it's  one  of  Baldy's  words  for  being 
show-off  particular,  like  the  woman  father  tells 
about,  who  was  always  so  dreadfully  good. 
When  she  went  to  heaven  they  gave  her  an 
extra  beautiful  gold  crown  to  wear,  with  a  soft 
lining,  so  that  it  couldn't  hurt,  but  she  took  it  off 
and  looked  it  all  over,  and  said,  4 1  can  do  with  a 
cheaper  one  ;  beside,  linings  are  heating  !  '  And 
you  are  stingy  because  you  won't  let  any  of  us 
have  the  pleasure  of  thinking  we  are  making  you 
comfortable  ;  "  so  saying,  Anne,  with  a  red  spot 
in  the  middle  of  each  cheek,  walked  out  of  the 
cottage,  mounted  Fox,  and  rode  away,  without 
looking  behind  her. 

Miss  Jule,  who  a  few  moments  later  drew  up 
from  the  opposite  direction  expecting  to  meet  Mr. 
Hugh  and  advise  with  him  about  the  new  scheme, 
was  astonished  to  find  that  Anne  had  gone,  and  to 


250  DOGTOWN 

see  Mrs.  Carr  crouching  in  her  arm-chair  with 
her  face  in  her  apron. 

Making  no  attempt  to  hide  the  fact  that  she 
had  been  crying,  the  old  lady  straightened  herself, 
and  said  in  a  trembling  voice  :  "  Ye'll  be  havin'  no 
more  contrairy  times  with  me,  yerself  and  Master 
Hughie,  for  the  little  lassie  hit  out  straight  and 
fetched  me  between  the  eyes  like  the  minister  in 
the  kirk  used,  and  I  see  my  error,  that  is,  I  like 
shall  when  I'm  through  blinkin'.  Pride  is  a  good 
life-buoy  when  a  body's  drownin'  in  the  waters  o' 
trouble,  but  inconvenient  and  unseemly  to  wear 
juist  for  ornament  on  dry  land." 

Miss  Jule  asked  no  questions  at  the  time,  but 
the  truth  leaked  out,  and  Mrs.  Carr  herself  was 
the  first  to  tell  the  story,  laughing  as  she  did  so, 
with  the  dry,  harsh  laugh  that  needed  use  to  mel 
low  it,  and  illustrating  with  her  crutch  the  em 
phatic  sound  of  Anne's  boots,  as  she  walked  out. 

The  result  of  this  change  of  heart,  or  rather  of 
manner,  for  at  heart  the  old  woman  had  always 
been  good  as  gold,  was  that  even  when  picnic 
days  were  over,  and  the  good  folks  of  Dogtown 
left  the  fields  for  the  fireside,  and  children  re 
turned  to  school,  Robin  Hood's  Inn,  remote  as  it 
was,  became  a  meeting-place  for  autumn  walks, 
and  Saturday  parties  out  to  gather  leaves  or  nuts. 


TOLD   BY   THE   FIRE  251 

Moreover,  few  people  could  decide  which  attracted 
them  the  most,  the  tea  and  seedcakes,  the  courtesy 
of  Laddie  the  old  collie,  Jill's  coaxing  antics,  or 
Mrs.  Carr's  fine  hospitality. 

"  Herb  Witch  you  shall  still  be  called,  for  no 
one  brews  tea  like  you,"  said  Mr.  Hugh,  one  after 
noon  as  he  sat  by  the  wide  fireplace,  holding  'one 
of  the  precious  Lowestoft  cups  that  had  been  filled 
the  second  time. 

Mrs.  Carr,  for  some  unknown  reason,  never 
served  anyone  but  him  she  termed  her  "  landlord," 
and  Miss  Letty  from  these  cups. 

Miss  Jule,  her  niece,  Anne,  and  her  mother  had 
been  driving  together  and  had  likewise  stopped 
for  a  chat,  also  to  inquire  for  a  delicate  little 
spaniel,  one  of  an  overlarge  litter,  that  Mrs.  Can- 
was  mothering. 

"  Ah,  but  I've  fostered  a  rival  at  the  tea  drawing" 
said  the  old  lady  with  a  smile.  "  Miss  Lettice 
here  betters  me  at  it,  'twas  she  that  drew  that  very 
potful  as  your  foot  was  on  the  sill." 

"  Why  didn't  you  put  a  few  poison  ivy  leaves 
in  it?  I'm  quite  surprised,"  laughed  Mr.  Hugh, 
never  thinking  how  the  jest  might  hurt  the  young 
girl  with  whom  he  had  been  on  very  friendly 
terms  since  the  day  of  the  storm.  But  that  was 
Mr.  Hugh's  chief  fault ;  he  often  sharpened  his  lit- 


252  DOQTOWN 

tie  jokes  upon  other  people's  feelings,  while  Miss 
Letty  never  did.  She  said  nothing,  however,  but 
going  to  the  window  picked  up  Jill,  and  resting 
her  upon  the  sill  laid  her  face  against  one  of  the 
long  soft  ears. 

"  Some  day,  Hugh,"  said  Miss  Jule,  rather 
sharply,  "  Letty  and  I  will  find  a  thin  spot  in 
your  cuticle,  and  then  we  will  always  keep  salt 
ready  to  rub  in  it !  " 

"  Ah !  but  there's  a  bonnie  fortune  here,"  said 
Mrs.  Carr,  discerning  something  awry  and  lifting 
Letty's  empty  cup  she  looked  in  the  botton  ;  "  but 
what's  this  on  tother  side  ?  "  she  muttered,  "  two 
horses  travelling  even,  and  then  one  ahead  and 
riderless.  I  can't  read  that  —  best  wash  the  cup." 


No  matter  how  warm  the  noontide  sun  might 
be,  when  September  came  Waddles  liked  to  lie  by  a 
fire  in  the  evening.  If  there  was  none  in  the  hall 
chimney-corner  he  would  nose  open  the  door  into 
the  kitchen  and  stretch  himself  on  the  warm  hearth 
before  the  range,  for  though  he  would  not  like  to 
have  had  it  mentioned,  he  was  rheumatic,  and  his 
left  hind  leg  often  gave  him  trouble  in  crossing 
stone  walls.  As  for  rail  fences,  he  had  ceased  even 
going  through  them,  and  always  crawled  under. 


TOLD   BY  THE   FIRE  253 

Mrs.  Waddles  also  enjoyed  fireside  evenings, 
and  had  coaxed  her  way  until  she  shared  the  rug 
with  her  spouse  as  a  matter  o.f  course,  though  he 
alone  slept  at  Anne's  door,  Happy  going  back  to 
the  nursery  kennel  for  the  night.  Jack  still  slept 
there  with  her,  for  if  ever  there  was  a  "mother  boy" 
it  was  he.  All  day  long  he  kept  her  in  sight,  and 
at  night  drew  as  close  to  her  as  in  the  days  of  his 
dependent  puppyhood. 

It  was  one  of  the  first  of  these  evenings.  A 
log  was  smouldering  lazily  on  the  hearth  in  the 
hall,  though  doors  and  windows  were  open  and 
the  house  was  full  of  moonlight. 

The  family  had  all  gone  to  Miss  Jule's  for 
supper  and  to  talk  over  a  harvest  festival  with 
out-door  sports  that  Mr0  Hugh  proposed  to  hold 
at  Robin  Hood's  Inn. 

Before  Anne  went  out  she  ran  to  the  hall  table 
to  take  one  more  look  at  something  very  precious 
that  had  come  that  afternoon — her  camera,  so  long 
wished  for,  had  actually  arrived,  and  she  was  all 
eagerness  for  daylight  that  she  might  use  it,  as 
she  had  watched  her  father  at  his  work  so  often 
that  she  felt  as  if  she  really  knew  how.  He  had 
insisted  that  she  begin  with  plates  instead  of  films, 
that  she  might  the  more  easily  develop  her  pic 
tures  and  thus  discover  her  own  mistakes,  so  the 


254  DOGTOWN 

camera  was  a  substantial  four  by  five  instrument 
in  a  leather-covered  case,  with  a  light  tripod  for 
time  work. 

Waddles  lay  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  bearskin 
rug,  Happy  being  next  the  fire,  everything  was 
quiet  except  her  little  whimpering  snore  and 
the  crickets  that  chanted  outside,  led,  it  seemed, 
by  one  persistent  individual  in  the  wood-box. 

Suddenly  Happy  gave  a  groan,  and  began  to 
shiver  and  cry  in  her  sleep.  Up  started  Waddles, 
stumbled  over  her  before  he  understood  from 
where  the  noise  came,  and  then  gave  her  a  little 
shake,  saying,  in  a  language  that,  deaf  though  she 
was,  she  understood :  "  Wake  up.  What  is  the 
matter?  You  were  so  greedy  about  that  cold 
sausage  at  supper  that  I  knew  you'd  have 
trouble." 

Happy  gave  a  despairing  kick  or  two,  then 
rolled  over,  and,  gaining  her  feet,  sniffed  once  or 
twice,  her  back  bristling,  and  then  opened  her 
eyes.  "  I  thought  that  I  was  a  kennel  dog 
again,"  she  said  with  a  little  gasp,  settling  herself 
close  by  Waddles,  as  if  craving  protection  from 
such  a  catastrophe,  and  scratching  an  ear  to  be 
sure  that  she  was  herself. 

" 1  never  lived  in  a  kennel,  though  when  I  was 
very  young  I  used  to  wish  I  did.  The  Hilltop 


TOLD   BY  THE   FIRE  255 

dogs  got  lots  to  eat  and  I  didn't."  "Why 
didn't  you  like  it?"  asked  Waddles,  who,  hav 
ing  thoroughly  waked  up,  was  in  the  mood  for 
a  lazy,  comfortable  chat. 

"  Ting,  ting,  ting,  bur-r-r,"  said  the  telephone 
bell  by  the  door,  Waddles  jumped  up  bristling, 
and  barked  his  yap,  yap,  "  treed-cat  "  bark  at  it ; 
he  always  regarded  the  telephone  as  a  personal  in 
sult,  and  as  he  did  not  quite  fathom  its  workings 
or  understand  a  voice  unattached  to  a  person  he 
was  not  a  little  afraid  of  it,  a  fact  he  managed  to 
conceal  by  bluster. 

Through  it  he  heard  his  mistress's  voice  when 
she  was  at  Miss  Jule's  and  wanted  to  ask  if  she 
might  stay  to  dinner  or  supper,  but  he  could  get 
no  scent  of  her  whereabouts.  Also  he  could  hear 
the  master  talking  to  the  fishman,  whose  odour 
was  oban  and  forbidden  of  good  dogs,  and  was  his 
chief  enemy  besides,  having  dared  to  flick  his 
whip  at  him.  Was  it  not  aggravating  to  hear 
those  rasping  tones  without  having  a  chance  to 
pretend  to  nip  his  heels  or  bark  his  bony  horse 
into  a  gallop? 

Now  that  there  was  no  one  at  home  to  take 
down  the  magic  tube  that  released  the  evil  spirit, 
he  could  take  his  revenge  and  bark  his  mind, 
which  he  did  until  he  was  hoarse. 


256 


DOGTOWN 


"  Why  didn't  I  like  it  ?  "  asked  Happy,  now  also 
quite  awake,  and  with  great  energy.  "  There  was 
enough  to  eat,  I  suppose,  but  how,  and  when,  and 
where?  I  should  like  you  to  tell  me  that  first." 

As  Waddles  didn't  know,  he  could  not  tell,  so 
Happy  took  the  floor,  or  rather  the  bearskin,  and 
began  her  story,  occasionally  punctuating  it  by 
pauses  caused  by  stopping  to  give  her  paws  an 
extra  washing. 

"  Melody,  my  mother,  was  not  born  in  a  kennel, 
though  after  she  had  great  sport  arid  hunted  a 
few  years,  she  came  to  live  at  Hilltop.  I  was 
born  there,  and  the  difference  between  living  in 
a  kennel  and  running  free  begins  even  before  your 
eyes  are  open. 

"  Of  course  you've  looked  into  the  kennel  yard 
four  acres  big,  inside  the  tall  wire  fence  and  seen 


TOLD  BY  THE  FIRE  257 

the  grass-run,  and  the  swimming-pool,  but  have 
you  ever  been  inside  the  long  red  house  made 
into  rooms  with  many  windows  and  doors,  and 
a  little  yard  by  each?" 

"No,"  said  Waddles,  "I've  often  tried,  but 
some  one  always  drove  me  away,  though  once, 
when  I  had  stepped  inside  the  door,  I  ran  down 
a  long  hallway  when  a  big  black  and  white  setter, 
who  seemed  to  be  all  by  himself  in  a  small  room, 
told  me  I'd  best  get  out  while  I  could,  for  maybe 
if  I  waited  I  couldn't,  and  begged  me  to  bring 
him  a  bone  next  time  I  came." 

"  That,  was  old  Antonio,  a  boarder,"  said  Happy, 
looking  into  the  fire  as  if  she  saw  the  past  in  it. 
"  His  master  used  to  have  a  country  house  like 
this,  and  he  raised  Antonio  from  a  pup,  took  him 
hunting  every  leaf  fall,  and  let  him  lie  on  the 
hearth-rug  winter  nights,  but  when  the  master 
sold  the  house  and  went  away,  he  sent  Antonio 
to  board  at  Hilltop  until  he  should  come  back 
for  him.  He  promised  to  come  soon,  but  that 
was  the  summer  that  I  was  a  pup,  and  Antonio  is 
still  waiting. 

"  Of  course  he  is  comfortable  in  a  way  ;  he  and 
Rufus,  the  Irish  setter  with  red  hair,  have  a  good 
room  together,  each  with  a  boxed  straw  bed,  and 
a  private  yard  to  lie  in  when  they  are  not  turned 


258 


DOGTOWN 


into  the  great  yard  for  running,  but  they  are  in 
chain  when  they  sleep  at  night,  and  when  they  are 
fed,  and  that  is  a  grievous  thing  to  an  old  dog 
who  has  once  run  free,  and  owned  his  bones.  My 
mother  told  me  so  then,  but  being  born  a  kennel 
dog  I  did  not  understand." 

"  What  were  the  other  rooms  in  that  long 
house  ? "  asked  Waddles,  now  sitting  up  wide 
awake  and  interested.  "  I  saw  more  doors  than 

there  are  in  this 
whole  house  or 
at  Miss  Jule's, 
and  though  I 
was  in  a  hurry, 
I  sniffed  good 
crisp  brown 
smells." 

"  Some  rooms 
like  Antonio's 
are  for  the 

III  'i  grown  dogs  that 

live  there  all 
the  time  except 
when  they  go 
away  for  hunting.  Then  there  are  others  closer 
and  warmer  for  the  mother  dogs  with  families ; 
I  was  born  in  one  of  these,  and  stayed  there  with 


TOLD  BY  THE  FIRE  259 

my  little  brothers  and  sisters  until  I  was  six 
weeks  old,  and  could  stand  firm  upon  my  feet 
without  resting  on  my  stomach.  Before  this,  for 
many  days,  when  my  mother  was  let  out  for  her 
airing,  she  stayed  away  longer  and  longer,  and 
when  we  were  hungry  they  gave  us  milk  to  lap 
from  a  tin,  which  was  tiresome  and  took  much 
more  trouble  than  to  eat  the  way  our  mother 
taught  us,  lying  close  to  her  where  we  could 
knead  her  warm  sides  with  our  paws.  Finally, 
one  night  she  did  not  come  back  at  all.  Then 
we  were  taken  from  our  little  bedroom  to  a  great 
square  place,  all  wood  dust  on  the  floor  and  with 
a  great  black  thing  standing  in  the  middle  that 
frightened  me  terribly,  but  afterward  I  found  that 
it  was  called  a  stove,  and  was  warm  inside  and 
pleasant  to  lie  by,  though  it  could  not  feed  us 
as  our  mother  did. 

"In  this  big  room  were  many  other  pups  of 
different  kinds  and  sizes,  who  played  or  dozed 
in  corners,  but  there  were  none  as  small  as  we, 
and  we  felt  sad  and  lonely.  I  well  remember 
how  we  squealed  that  night  until  Baldy's  brother 
brought  Miss  Jule  and  she  had  us  put  back  into 
our  little  room,  but  our  mother  was  not  there. 
Once  in  the  night  she  answered  as  from  far  away  ; 
but  she  couldn't  come  for  there  were  many  doors 


260  DOGTOWN 

between.  They  called  this  weaning  us,  so  that 
we  should  learn  to  care  for  ourselves  ;  but  if  you 
are  born  free  like  our  Jack  and  Jill  it  all  happens 
of  itself  and  there  is  no  sorrow.  Next  day  we 
went  back  to  the  big  room  with  all  the  other  pup 
pies,  and  four  times  every  day  each  one  of  us  wras 
put  into  a  little  box  like  a  chicken-coop  —  there 
was  a  row  of  them  all  round  the  wall  —  and  given 
a  dish  of  food." 

"  What  was  that  for  ?  "  asked  Waddles,  "  why 
did  they  shut  you  up  ?  I  like  to  walk  about  when 
I  eat." 

"  Because,"  answered  Happy,  feeling  proud  and 
important  at  knowing  something  that  wise  Wad 
dles  did  not,  "  if  the  food  was  given  to  us  at  once 
the  biggest  would  gobble  two  or  three  shares  and 
the  small  pups  would  get  none.  At  the  kennels 
grown  dogs  are  tied  when  they  eat,  but  pups  wear 
no  collars,  for  they  are  bad  things  for  their  soft 
necks. 

"  After  a  while  we  became  used  to  the  life  and 
had  good  times  playing  in  the  puppy  pasture. 
One  day  we  saw  our  mother  in  the  other  enclosure 
with  the  grown  dogs,  and  we  ran  close  to  the 
fence  and  tried  to  dig  under  it ;  but  kennel  fences 
are  set  deep  with  melted  stone  poured  round  the 
posts.  When  we  found  we  could  not  get  through 


TOLD  BY   THE   FIRE  261 

we  barked  and  wagged  our  tails  and  then  even 
our  bodies  when  we  saw  her  coming  toward  us  ; 
but  she  did  not  notice  us  at  all  —  she  had  forgot 
ten  us  !  " 

"  Then  who  taught  you  to  play  snatch-bone  and 
wrestle,  who  killed  your  fleas  for  you  and  washed 
you  ?  "  asked  Waddles,  with  indignation. 

"  We  learned  to  wrestle  by  tumbling  about  to 
gether.  As  to  snatch-bone,  how  could  we  play  it, 
we  who  have  no  bones  ?  " 

"  No  bones  !  "  echoed  Waddles,  in  amazement. 

"  None  to  keep,  or  to  bury,  or  play  with  ;  such 
as  we  had  must  be  gnawed  at  a  meal  or  they 
were  taken  away.  How  could  kennel  dogs  who 
are  never  alone  bury  bones  without  having  them 
stolen  and  breeding  a  fight  ? 

"  One  day  after  I  had  left  the  puppy  yard  old 
Antonio  kept  a  round  bone  hidden  in  his  mouth 
to  gnaw  on  later.  Forgetting  himself  he  barked 
and  dropped  it.  Oh,  but  there  was  a  commotion 
that  took  three  men,  besides  Miss  Jule,  to  quell, 
and  all  the  dogs  were  bristling  and  angry  for 
three  days. 

44  Waddles,"  and  there  were  almost  tears  in 
Happy's  eyes,  "  you  don't  know  what  it  was  to  be 
a  well-fed  kennel  dog,  and  yet  be  so  poor  that 
you  had  not  even  a  bone  to  bury  !  And  if  you 


262 


DOGTOWN 


had  one  you  could  not  hide  it  in  a  floor  of  melted 
stone. 

"  I  noticed  that  as  I  grew  bigger  and  stronger 
and  hungrier  I  had  fewer  meals,  until  when  I 
was  grown  and  slept  in  a  separate  room  with  Flo, 
the  English  setter,  we  had  but  one  a  day;  a  great 
pan  of  warm  stew  with  bread  in  it,  every  evening 
when  we  were  chained  up  for  the  night  beside 
our  beds." 

"  That  stew  sounds  good,"  said  Waddles,  lick 
ing  his  lips,  "  and  what  for  breakfast  ?  " 

"  No  breakfast.  No  bits  of  toast  from  Tommy, 
or  chop  shank  from  the  master.  It's  always 
supper  with  a  kennel  dog.  It  isn't  Miss  Jule's 
fault,  or  anybody's  ;  there  aren't  enough  bits  of 

toast  or  chop  bones 
to  feed  a  yard  full 
of  pups  and  dogs. 

"As  to  the  fleas 
and  baths,  when  we 
were  old  enough  Bal- 
dy's  brother  Martin 
washed  us  every  week. 
There  is  a  room  next 
to  the  nursery  kennel 
that  has  a  water-box 
in  it  like  the  one  our 


TOLD   BY  THE   FIRE  263 

cows  drink  out  of,  and  above  it  hang  rows  and 
rows  of  collars  of  all  sizes,  ready  for  dogs  to  wear 
who  are  to  go  away  or  come  to  the  kennel  without 
them. 

"  We  little  pups  were  washed  in  this  box,  and 
if  we  cried  or  jumped  about  Martin  would  put  a 
collar  on  to  hold  us  by.  The  washing  wasn't  bad 
at  first,  but  it  was  very  wet  and  sometimes  cold, 
and  the  big  brush  he  used  wasn't  as  soft  and  warm 
as  our  mothers  tongue  that  washed  and  wiped  at 
the  same  time. 

"  Sometimes  if  Martin  was  tired  or  in  a  hurry  he 
did  not  dry  us  well,  and  often  dogs  grew  sick 
and  sneezed  and  shivered.  Then  the  big  doctor- 
man  came  hurrying  out  from  over  town  with  his 
quick  horse,  to  see  them,  and  said  they  had  4  dis 
temper.'  When  this  happened  Miss  Jule  would 
often  sit  up  at  night  with  them;  and  sometimes 
they  got  well,  and  sometimes  they  were  taken 
away  and  never  came  back,  then  Miss  Jule  would 
say  4  This  is  an  unlucky  season.'  But  we  knew  it 
most  often  happened  when  Martin  forgot  some 
thing,  for  Miss  Jule  could  not  feel  each  dog's 
nose  every  day,  and  see  if  its  eyes  look  bright, 
and  ask  us  if  we  feel  well,  as  our  mistress  does. 

"  The  flea-killing  was  worse ;  our  mother  took 
them  one  by  one,  but  Martin  rubbed  sneezy  powder 


264  DOGTOWN 

in  our  hair,  so  if  we  tried  to  lick  ourselves  a  bit 
we  coughed  and  choked.  Our  Jack  is  nearly 
grown,  and  yet  he  has  never  had  a  bath  from  any 
one  but  me,  and  there's  not  a  flea  upon  him.  See 
what  it  is  to  be  born  free  and  live  a  private  life !  " 

Then  Mrs.  Waddles's  broad  chest  swelled  with 
pride,  as  she  yawned,  stretched  her  feet  toward 
the  fire,  and  curved  her  back. 

"  Where  did  the  good  smells  come  from  ? " 
asked  Waddles.  "  Part  of  them  might  be  soup, 
but  the  others  were  too  much  like  the  village 
bakery  where  Mistress  sometimes  buys  us  broken 
cakes." 

"  That  smell  came  from  the  kennel  kitchen,  you 
must  have  been  there  on  a  baking  day.  There 
are  four  rooms  together  that  dogs  must  never  go 
in,  but  the  day  our  Mistress  bought  me  from  Miss 
Jule  and  I  walked  home  with  her,  she  went  out 
through  those  rooms,  then  I  saw  and  knew.  The 
littlest  room  was  full  of  the  soap  they  wash  us 
with,  and  bottles  of  the  stuff  they  give  us  when  we 
are  sick  or  sprinkle  on  the  melted  stone  floors, 
that  are  through  all  the  kennels,  to  sweeten  them. 

"  The  next  room  had  boxes  in  it  like  those  that 
hold  the  horse  food  in  our  stable,  and  they  were 
full  of  the  stuff  Martin  makes  the  dog-bread  of. 
I  saw  him  take  some  out,  and  in  the  corner  was  a 


TOLD   BY   THE   FIRE 


265 


great  cold  box,  and 

though  I  could  not 

see  inside  I  smelled 

that    it   held    meat, 

and  near  by  was  the 

kettle   they   cooked 

our  soup  in.     In  the 

biggest  room  of  all 

there   was    a    great 

block  like  that  our 

butcher    chops    the 

meat    on    while   we 

wait    to    catch    the 

bits,  also   a   big   can   full  of   milk   and  rows   of 

tin  pans  piled  on  more  shelves. 

"Just  then  I  smelled  something  delicious  and 
Mistress  turned  round,  I  following  her;  there  I 
saw  Martin  standing  by  the  open  door  of  a  great 
oven  with  a  red  fire  below,  and  in  it  were  pans  and 
pans  of  crispy  bread  ready  to  take  out,  and  more 
upon  a  table  to  go  in,  and  Mistress  broke  off  a 
crust  that  overhung,  and  threw  it  to  me.  I  shan't 
forget  that  crust;  it  was  my  first  bite  of  liberty." 

"  Did  you  never  run  free  at  all,  or  never  go  out 
alone  to  have  any  sport  ?  I  should  have  jumped 
that  fence  or  dug  out  somehow." 

"No,  you  would  not"  said    Happy,  decidedly. 


266 


DOGTOWN 


"  Silver  Tongue,  the  biggest  foxhound,  could  not. 
Ah,  yes,  we  had  good  sport  sometimes,  all  through 
the  swamp  woods  trailing  for  rabbits  though  we 
never  got  any,  and  do  you  know,  Silver  Tongue 
told  me  once  that  they  tied  the  smell  up  in  a  bag 
and  dragged  it  on  the  ground  just  to  make  us  run, 
and  there  was  no  rabbit ! 

"  One    day,  though,  they  took   me   with   some 
older  dogs  to  track  real  rabbits,  for  I  saw  them 

and  I  had  run 
one  into  a  fence 
corner,  and  it 
turned  round 
and  looked  at  me, 
when  such  an 
awful  noise  came 
down  irpon  my 
head  I  thought 
the  sky  had  fal 
len.  I  forgot  the 
rabbit  and  fell 
over  for  my  head 
ached  terribly. 
Martin  picked  me 
up  and  rubbed 
my  head  and 
wrapped  me  in 


TOLD    BY   THE   FIRE  267 

his  coat,  then  everything  was  still.  It  has  been  so 
ever  since,  pleasant  and  quiet.  When  I  felt  bet 
ter  I  saw  Martin's  gun  was  broken  and  burst,  and 
now  I  have  to  see  with  my  eyes  what  people  want 
of  me,  for  my  ears  catch  nothing. 

"  There  was  always  sport,  too,  when  new  dogs 
came,  either  to  live  or  board  with  us.  They 
didn't  know  the  rules  and  so  of  course  they  made 
lots  of  mistakes.  Sometimes  they  felt  sulky  and 
would  not  eat  their  supper  because  they  didn't 
know  that  there  was  no  breakfast,  and  they 
would  cry  and  beg,  and  if  Miss  Jule  came  by  she 
would  understand  and  give  them  some,  but  Martin 
only  went  by  rule. 

"  You  know  the  open  shed  up  at  Hilltop  where 
the  log-wood  is  kept,  and  the  old  grindstone  ?  for 
we've  often  chased  squirrels  up  the  back  of  it. 
That  shed  is  in  the  puppy  yard,  and  the  boxes 
that  dogs  travel  in  are  kept  there.  We  pups 
used  to  have  great  sport  lying  there  in  the  shade 
to  watch  the  boxes  brought  in  and  out,  and  see 
who  came,  who  went  away. 

"  We  all  thought  it  would  be  fun  to  go  travel 
ling  and  often  scrambled  in  and  out  of  them,  but 
if  Martin  shut  the  door  we  were  frightened,  and 
glad  enough  to  be  loose  again.  The  boxes  were  not 
tight  but  opened  and  latticed  like  hen-coops,  and 


268 


DOGTOWN 


they  called  them  dog  crates.  It  was  a  fine  thing 
at  the  end  of  summer  to  see  the  crates  brought 
out  and  cleaned,  and  the  old  dogs,  setters,  hounds, 
and  spaniels,  who  had  been  away  before  for  the 
hunting,  go  nearly  wild  with  joy  at  sight  of  them, 
and  clamour  for  the  start. 

"The  youngsters  who  had  never  been,  and 
thought  the  crate  a  punishment,  trembled  at 
first,  but  the  others  explained,  and  so  all 
through  the  autumn  there  was  coming,  going, 
and  excitement. 

44  Sometimes,  on  fine  days,  Miss  Jule  would  come 
with  an  apronful  of  dog-bread,  and  throw  the  bits 
for  us  to  catch,  and  that  day  was  held  a  great 
festival.  For  the  one  who  jumped  the  highest, 


TOLD   BY   THE   FIRE  269 

or  caught  the  quickest,  would  get  an  extra  bit,  or 
be  taken  out  to  spend  the  day  at  the  house,  and 
have  its  dinner  with  Mr.  Wolf,  Miss  Jule's  very 
own  best  dog,  and  Tip,  the  head  retriever.  When 
these  dogs  came  back  to  the  kennels,  though, 
there  was  always  a  row,  for  they  felt  so  very  fine 
and  big,  and  bragged  so  about  what  they  had 
seen,  and  the  dozens  of  bones  they  had  gnawed 
or  buried,  that  finally,  we  who  were  neither  quick 
nor  clever  could  not  bear  it,  so  we  agreed  that 
whenever  a  dog  came  back  from  running  free  we 
would  all  bark  together  so  loud  that  not  a  word  of 
what  he  said  could  be  heard. 

"  Flo,  the  English  setter,  one  of  my  best  friends, 
who  lives  up  there  still,  tells  me  that  times  are 
much  better  now,  for  Miss  Letty  takes  a  great 
interest  in  the  dogs,  and  every  morning,  as  soon 
as  she  has  had  breakfast,  she  comes  to  the  fence 
of  the  front  yard,  bringing  a  basket  of  dog-bread. 
She  gives  a  whistle,  and  when  the  dogs  are  all 
collected  then  she  begins  throwing  them  bread, 
bit  by  bit,  aiming  it  so  carefully  that  even  the 
stupidest,  slowest  dog  of  them  gets  at  least  one 
piece.  Then  sometimes  she  will  go  inside  the 
fence  of  the  big  field  and  throw  a  ball  for  the 
dogs  to  chase,  and  Flo  says  that  when  Miss 
Letty  calls  the  dog  who  wins  by  name,  or  praises 


270  DOGTOWN 

him,  he  likes  it  better  than  a  bone,  and  wags 
away  like  mad.  So  now  the  kennel  dogs  have 
two  things  a  day  to  look  forward  to,  supper  at 
night,  and  Miss  Letty  in  the  morning." 

"  I  call  that  a  very  stupid  life,"  said  Waddles, 
yawning  and  stretching  in  his  turn  ;  "  isn't  there 
any  real  hunting  or  real  fun  ?  " 

"  Yes,  in  the  autumn  and  once  already  this  sea 
son  there  was  a  hunt,  Flo  says.  It  was  Miss  Letty 
who  let  the  dogs  out  to  go  to  it,  and  Silver  Tongue, 
the  foxhound,  who  showed  them  the  way.  My, 
but  they  had  fine  running  and  catching,  only  Flo 
says  that  their  getting  out, was  an  accident,  and 
that  Mr.  Hugh  was  very  angry,  but  Squire  Burle}^ 
and  Miss  Jule  only  laughed  and  laughed,  and  it 
was  a  week  before  the  dogs  all  got  back." 

"  Hurry  up,  and  go  on  and  tell  about  it,"  said 
Waddles,  sniffing  uneasily.  "Mistress  will  be  at 
home  soon,  and  then  you  will  have  to  go  out  to 
bed,  and  I  sha'n't  hear  what  they  hunted." 

"  They  are  here  now,"  said  Happy,  holding  her 
head  on  one  side,  for  though  she  could  not  hear, 
she  could  feel  the  vibration  of  coming  footsteps. 

"  Keep  quiet,"  said  Waddles,  "  it  is  so  dark  that 
maybe  mistress  will  go  by  and  forget  you." 

The  master  went  through  the  hallway  to  the 
library,  Tommy  stumbled  sleepily  along  toward 


I 


TOLD   BY  THE   FIRE  273 

the  stairs,  holding  his  mother's  hand,  while  Anne 
went  to  the  table  where  the  moonlight  showed  her 
that  the  camera  was  safe  and  sound,  and  after 
giving  it  a  caressing  touch,  called  Waddles  and 
went  up  to  bed,  but  not  to  sleep. 


CHAPTER   XI 

"  OVER   THE   HILLS   AND   FAR   AWAY  !  " 

THAT  Waddles  did  not  go  up  stairs  the  moment 
he  was  called  was  nothing  unusual,  for  though 
Anne's  door-mat  was  his  regular  bed  he  was  at 
liberty  to  roam  about  the  house  at  will. 

He  sat  quite  still  for  a  few  minutes,  listening 
until  the  footsteps  overhead  ceased,  his  eyes  glow 
ing  through  the  dark  like  bits  of  green  phospho 
rescence,  then  settled  himself  again  with  a  sigh, 
for  his  back  legs  were  extra  stiff.  Happy,  hav 
ing  forgotten  and  gone  to  sleep,  was  again  strug 
gling  with  bad  dreams,  so  he  had  to  arouse  her. 

"  Now  that  I've  managed  for  you  to  stay  in 
doors,  the  least  that  you  can  do  is  to  tell  me  about 
the  hunting  the  kennel  dogs  took  out  of  season," 
he  said,  as  soon  as  she  was  fairly  awake.  Poor 
Happy  was  heavy  with  sleep,  but  her  obliging 
disposition  conquered,  though  she  nodded  two  or 
three  times  before  she  remembered  where  she  left 
her  story. 

274 


"OVER  THE    HILLS   AND   FAR   AWAY!"       275 

"  It  was  way  back  in  the  beginning  of  flea  time, 
when  Miss  Letty  had  not  been  up  at  Hilltop 
very  long,  that  she  gave  the  kennel  dogs  such  a 
holiday  as  some  of  them  had  never  had  in  their 
whole  lives,  though  Flo  does  say  that  it  happened 
quite  by  accident. 

"  All  through  the  hill  farms,  Miss  Jule's,  Squire 
Burley's,  and  Mr.  Hugh's,  there  are  trees  that  bear 
those  big  long-stemmed  red  berries  that  the  birds 
love  ;  cherries,  I  think  House  People  call  them. 
When  I  lived  up  there  I  used  to  watch  out  under 
the  trees  to  see  the  robins  and  cat-birds  come  to 
eat  them,  and  laugh  at  poor  Antonio,  who  used 
to  get  a  stiff  neck  pointing  at  the  birds  up  in  the 
branches,  never  getting  anything  but  the  pits  they 
dropped  on  his  long  nose. 

"  Flo  says  that  Miss  Letty  loves  these  cherries, 
and  that  after  picking  all  the  ripe  ones  she  could 
reach  from  the  ground  and  fences,  one  day  she 
came  riding  along  to  gather  them  on  horseback. 
The  best  trees  were  in  Squire  Burley's  paddock 
where  his  foxhound  kennels  are,  and  as  he  had 
often  asked  Miss  Letty  to  come  and  help  herself, 
she  opened  the  gate  with  her  whip  handle,  rode 
through  and  thought  she  closed  it  after  her,  but 
it  didn't  quite  latch.  Harkaway,  one  of  the 
squire's  hounds,  told  me  this.  The  squire  has  five 


276  DOGTOWN 

hounds  but  no  one  else  in  Dogtown,  except  Miss 
Jule  and  Mr.  Hugh,  keeps  more  than  one  each, 
and  when  they  really  go  a-hunting  in  the  fall  the 
squire  stands  at  his  gate  and  fires  his  gun,  then  all 
the  people  know  the  signal  and  come  bringing 
their  dogs,  and  together  they  make  as  fine  a  pack 
as  the  Hilltop  Kennels  can  show. 

"  Miss  Letty  rode  slowly  along  under  the  trees, 
now  and  then  pulling  down  a  branch  with  her 
whip,  but  she  didn't  stay  very  long  before  she 
went  out  again  and  turned  into  the  brush  lane 
that  runs  from  the  squire's  down  behind  Miss 
Jule's  kennel  yard  toward  the  rabbit  wood. 

"  Then  Harkaway  signalled  to  the  other  hounds 
with  the  silent  signal  for  still  hunting  and  no  cry, 
and  they  slunk  out  of  the  high  paddock  gate  after 
nosing  it  open  a  little  wider.  Keeping  behind 
the  fence  they  followed  Miss  Letty  to  the  back 
gate  of  Miss  Jule's  kennel  yard  where  they  lay 
low  and  waited.  Now  those  high  gates  have  a 
strange  fastening ;  the  latch  falls  between  two  iron 
paws  that  move  and  hold  it,  but  sometimes  though 
the  gate  stays  shut  one  paw  forgets  to  move,  and 
a  quick  nose  can  shove  the  gate  before  the  paw 
remembers.  That  is  what  happened  when  Miss 
Letty  opened  that  back  kennel  gate ;  the  outside 
paw  was  stiff  and  did  not  lay  hold. 


1 


$SH$*SJSs   * 


"OVER  THE    HILLS  AND   FAR   AWAY!"       279 

"  No  sooner  was  she  well  inside  and  going  to  the 
swimming-pool  to  give  her  horse  a  drink,  than 
Harkaway,  lying  outside  in  the  long  grass,  gave 
Silver  Tongue  the  silent  signal.  Then  Silver 
Tongue,  standing  in  his  usual  place,  watching 
frogs  by  the  pond  sluiceway,  gave  his  far-away  cry 
that  sounded  as  if  it  came  from  over  by  Mr. 
Hugh's  barn,  and  Miss  Letty,  hidden  by  low- 
hanging  trees,  did  not  notice  that  all  the  fox 
hounds  understood  it  and  sprang  up,  that  the 
setters  stood  first  at  a  point  and  then  dashed 
toward  the  gate,  one  by  one  disappearing  down 
the  lane. 

"  Lucky  for  them  that  Mr.  Wolf  didn't  see,  for 
he  would  have  told  Miss  Jule  and  spoiled  their 
sport,  for  of  all  the  dogs  within  or  out  the  kennel 
Mr.  Wolf  has  the  most  'say  so,'  and  we  almost 
know  that  he  tells  Miss  Jule  our  secrets,  and  that 
they  talk  together.  This  much  was  told  me;  the 
rest  I  saw  myself,  for  I  was  in  the  lane  on  rabbit 
business  that  morning. 

"  As  it  happened,  it  was  our  family,  the  Beagles, 
that  gave  warning,  for  the  moment  the  first  one,  old 
Bramble,  my  grandmother,  and  my  uncle  Meadow 
Brook,  got  into  that  lane  they  fell  on  a  fresh  rab 
bit  trail  and  gave  tongue,  and  then  the  hounds 
answered  with  full  cry,  and  throwing  family  pride 


280  DOGTOWtf 

away,  ran  with  the  little  hounds,  barking,  yelp 
ing,  following  every  trail,  fresh  and  stale,  and 
dashing  here  and  there,  where  there  was  no  scent 
at  all. 

"  Miss  Letty  turned,  saw  what  she  had  done,  and 
galloped  toward  the  house,  from  which  Martin  and 
Miss  Jule  came  running,  speechless  with  astonish 
ment,  for  all  the  dogs  in  the  grow-ups'  exercise 
yard  had  gone,  and  the  puppies  were  wild  with 
excitement  and  dashing  at  the  wires. 

"At  first  Miss  Letty  was  almost  crying,  but  in 
a  few  minutes  Miss  Jule  began  to  laugh  until  she 
shook  all  over,  and  you  know  that  is  a  great  deal  of 
shake.  Then  Miss  Letty  laughed,  too,  and  Martin 
closed  the  back  gate  and  opened  one  to  the  barn 
yard,  and  sat  down  by  the  pump  and  waited. 

"  Soon  Mr.  Hugh  came  riding  by,  looking,  oh,  so 
cross,  that  I  was  afraid  and  hid.  He  went  to 
where  Miss  Jule  was  standing  by  the  puppy  yard 
fence  talking  to  Flo,  and  asking  her  how  she  came 
there.  Flo  had  been  shut  in  by  mistake  that  day, 
and  as  she  couldn't  get  out  to  go  with  the  others 
she  was  amusing  herself  catching  meadow-mice 
and  she  told  me  what  they  said.  Flo  is  such  a 
hard-working  dog,  and  she  points,  flushes,  and 
retrieves  as  well  as  any  two  others,  and  even  when 
she  is  shut  up  she  keeps  in  practice  on  mice, 


OVER   THE    HILLS   AND   FAR   AWAY!"       281 


toads,  and  squirrels.  I  can  always  tell  when  it's 
a  meadow-mouse  she  is  pointing,  even  when  I 
watch  her  through  the  wires  from  far  off,  because 
she  stands  short  and  points  down  into  the  grass, 
but  other  times  she  spreads  out  more  and  points 
ahead.  This  day  she  quite  forgot  the  mouse  in 
listening  to  Mr.  Hugh;  for  she  said  she  never 
knew  before  that  House  People  could  growl." 

What  Mr.  Hugh  said  did  not  interest  Waddles, 
who  was  eager  for  the  hunting,  so  Happy  did  not 
tell  it  ;  but  as  twofoots  may  like  to  hear,  it  is 
recorded  as  it  happened. 

"  Whose  carelessness  is  this  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Hugh. 


282  DOGTOWN 

"Mine,"  said  Miss  Letty,  with  a  mischievous 
twinkle  in  her  eyes,  before  Miss  Jule  could  answer. 
"  I  didn't  latch  the  gate,  but  the  dogs  will  all  be 
back  in  a  few  days,  Miss  Jule  says.  What  makes 
you  look  so  fierce  ?  Surely,  your  dogs  are  all  safe 
at  home  ?  " 

"  That's  exactly  what  they  all  are  not,"  said  Mr. 
Hugh,  gnawing  the  ends  of  his  brown  mustache, 
while  his  gray  eyes  flashed  green  and  yellow 
sparks,  and  he  beat  an  angry  tattoo  with  his  whip 
on  his  leather  gaiter. 

"But  I've  not  been  on  your  land  stealing 
cherries,  or  opened  your  gates,"  said  Miss  Letty, 
looking  puzzled. 

"That  was  not  necessary.  I  was  walking 
below  in  the  lane  with  a  string  of  young,  un 
broken  dogs  on  leaders  —  four  hounds,  and  half 
a  dozen  setter  pups  —  when  a  whirlwind  of  dogs 
came  by,  some  yelping,  some  in  full  cry,  with 
their  noses  to  the  ground,  some  looking  in  the 
air,  some  tumbling  over  each  other  on  a  single 
trail,  and  others  dashing  about  between  half  a 
dozen.  In  the  hubbub  my  dogs  escaped  and  fol 
lowed  the  others — " 

"  Over  the  hills  and  far  away !  "  sang  Miss  Letty, 
before  Mr.  Hugh  could  finish  his  sentence,  her 
laughing  face  breaking  into  dimples,  —  "  but  pray, 


"OVER   THE   HILLS  AND   FAR   AWAY!1'       283 

how  could  they  get  away  if  you  had  them  in 
leash  ?  " 

"  I  let  go  — that  is,  the  stringer  slipped  through 
ray  hand,  and  so,  because  Miss  Heedless  left  that 
gate  open,  a  fine  lot  of  pups  that  I  bred  for  exhibi 
tion  and  who  have  never  before  left  the  kennels, 
have  gone  goodness  knows  where,  and,  ten  to  one, 
I  shall  never  see  any  of  them  again.  I'm  awfully 
annoyed,"  and  Mr.  Hugh  swung  himself  off  his 
horse  and  fumbled  with  the  bit  to  cool  his  heated 
temper. 

It  would  have  been  better  for  him  if  he  had 
stayed  mounted,  for  Mr.  Hugh  on  horseback  had 
a  commanding  figure,  while  on  the  ground  his 
legs  seemed  too  short  for  his  body,  so  that  the 
sudden  change  was  always  something  of  a  shock 
to  the  looker-on. 

Miss  Letty  coloured  a  trifle  and  then  said 
pleasantly,  but  in  quite  a  firm  voice,  as  if  she 
had  decided  that  she  would  not  be  treated  like  a 
child  any  longer :  "  I  don't  wonder  that  you  are 
annoyed  at  having  been  what  Anne  calls  '  rattled,' 
and  letting  your  dogs  slip  through  your  fingers,  I 
sympathize  with  you.  I  should  be  if  I  were  you  ; 
but  I  think  you  will  see  them  again  for  they  will 
probably  kill  all  the  ducks  and  geese  and  turkeys 
they  meet.  I've  noticed  it's  a  way  young  dogs 


284  DOGTOWN 

have  on  their  first  outings.  Then  of  course  the 
owners  will  bring  back  the  dogs  and  the  bills  for 
damages  together.  Oh,  no,  your  dogs  will  re 
turn." 

After  that  day  Mr.  Hugh  was  quite  careful  how 
he  crossed  swords  with  Miss  Letty,  and  she  no 
longer  stood  in  awe  of  him,  which  means  that 
they  then  began  to  understand  each  other  without 
knowing  it. 


Happy  got  up  and  turned  her  other  side  to  the 
fire,  before  she  continued.  She  felt  uneasy,  and 
thought  perhaps  she  had  eaten  too  much  sausage  ; 
but  it  was  so  good  and  she  always  felt  hungry. 

"  The  hunting,  where  did  the  dogs  go  ? " 
prompted  Waddles. 

"  They  ran  down  the  lane  together  until  they 
reached  the  low  woods  by  the  brook,  and  after 
trampling  the  trails  into  a  snarl,  they  divided,  the 
beagles  keeping  in  the  rabbit  land.  The  others 
climbing  up  the  rocks  and  following  the  ledge 
that  goes  on  and  on  until  it  is  Pine  Ridge,  where 
the  fox  lairs  are  and  the  best  coon- trees.  For  of 
course  the  old  hounds  remembered  the  real  hunt 
ing  days  when  any  autumn  day  might  find  the 
Squire's  hounds  chained  to  the  fence  in  readiness 


"OVER   THE   HILLS   AND  FAR  AWAY!"       287 

while  he  stood  in  the  gateway  holding  his  gun 
waiting  to  fire  the  signal  to  tell  the  neighbours 
that  a  fox  had  been  seen,  when  they  would  gather 
men  and  dogs  to  scramble  afoot  over  rocks  and 
briers.  Of  course  as  you  are  a  house  fourfoot,  I 
suppose  you  never  went  fox-hunting  ;  but  I  will 
tell  you  one  thing,  it  is  no  work  for  beagles ;  our 
legs  are  too  short,  for  the  foxhounds  lope  like 
horses  and  we  get  nowhere." 

"I've  been,"  answered  Waddles,  putting  on  a 
worldly  wise  expression,  such  as  Hamlet  used  to 
wear  when  he  did  tricks,  and  before  he  found 
himself,  "  I  haven't  forgotten  it.  I  was  away  two 
nights  and  a  day  and  Missy  thought  me  dead 
because  it  was  at  the  time  we  had  adventures  and 
saw  strange  things  and  we  had  been  to  the  far 
woods  to  see  the  Bad  One  die,  only  two  days 
before. 

"  At  first  I  followed  the  fox  trail  with  the 
hounds.  It's  a  queer  trail,  and  smells  rank  and 
raw,  not  ripe  and  delicious  like  a  rabbit's.  Soon  I 
fell  back  and  stumbled,  for  they  went  over  places 
I  could  only  crawl  through,  and  then  I  sprained 
a  paw  and  drew  into  a  corner  where  the  moss  was 
soft,  to  rest.  When  I  waked  up  it  was  early 
morning,  and  I  was  stiff  and  hungry.  I  tried 
to  surprise  a  rabbit  for  breakfast,  but  the  wind 


288  DOGTOWN 

was  the  wrong  way  and  they  scented  me  first. 
I  was  too  lame  to  walk  much  at  a  time,  and  I  had 
to  rest  often.  Toward  afternoon  I  caught  a  mole 
and  tried  to  eat  it,  but  ugh !  it  had  such  a  horrid 
flavour  that  it  sickened  me,  and  the  fur  was 
loose  and  gave  me  a  cough.  Just  before  night 
I  caught  a  red  squirrel  that  was  trying  to  rob 
a  nest  and  got  pecked  in  the  eye  and  fell  out  of 
the  tree.  The  squirrel  was  an  old  fighter,  with 
iron  legs,  a  leather  body,  and  wooden  insides, 
not  a  bit  juicy,  and  only  good  to  chew.  Next 
morning  I  limped  home  in  time  to  breakfast  on 
kidney  stew.  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  the  hunting 
is  fine  for  sport  and  killing,  but  living  by  it  is 
quite  another  thing,  and  running  with  foxhounds 
is  not  good  for  beagles." 

"Well,  as  I  was  saying,"  continued  Happy, 
"the  old  foxhounds  kept  on  up  to  Pine  Ridge, 
the  little  ones  following  very  well,  but  the  setter 
pups  turned  off  at  the  Mill  cross-roads  and  got 
into  trouble. 

"Besides  the  Squire's  dogs  and  Miss  Jule's,  all 
the  idlers  in  Dogtown  had  gathered  and  straggled 
after  when  they  heard  the  foxhounds  call,  and 
there  are  mischief-makers  among  fourfoots  as  well 
as  with  House  People. 

"  Beyond  the  Mill  is  a  big  turkey  pasture,  you 


''OVER   THE    HILLS   AND   FAR   AWAY!"       289 

know,  the  place  we  buy  our  turkeys  from.  Just 
as  the  setters  were  passing  it  a  hairy  yellow  cur 
came  up  and  said,  '  There's  fine  hunting  there  and 
plenty  of  it  —  nice  young  birds.'  The  moment 
those  setters  got  under  the  bars  their  noses  went 
down  and  their  tails  whirled  around  like  buzz- 
saws,  and  they  zigzagged  across  the  pasture, 
charging  on  the  first  flock  in  a  body.  These 
were  fine  white  turkeys.  The  hen  who  led  them 
showed  fight,  but  the  yellow  cur  teased  her  off, 
and  the  setters,  knowing  nothing,  bit  and  shook 
and  scattered  feathers,  until  of  the  fifteen  young 
turkeys  not  one  was  left  unhurt ;  then,  wild  with 
excitement  and  the  taste  of  game,  they  dashed 
down  (the  field  to  where  some  fine  bronze  birds 
were  sunning  themselves.  Half  a  dozen  fell 
before  a  great  gobbler  charged  from  the  bushes 
and  gave  chase,  while  the  cur  picked  out  one  of 
the  killed  and  took  it  behind  a  stone  fence,  where 
he  ate  it  at  his  leisure.  Then  men  began  to 
gather  from  the  fields  and  two  of  the  pups  were 
caught  and  tied  securely  in  the  barn  while  the 
turkeys  were  collected. 

" 4  Some  one  will  pay  well  for  these,'  said  the 
farmer,  as  he  laid  twenty-nine  young  turkeys  in  a 
row,  4and  the  bill  will  read  twenty-nine  Thanks 
giving  turkeys  at  §2.00  each,  for  that's  what 


290  DOGTOWN 

they  were  on  the  road  to.  Now  we'll  round  up 
the  dogs'  owner,'  and  he  went  toward  the  stable 
to  harness  a  team. 

"  The  other  two  setters,  Patty  and  Rory,  disap 
pointed  in  having  to  leave  before  they  had  tasted 
meat,  went  toward  the  mill-pond  for  a  drink. 
4  Quack,  quack,'  said  a  covey  of  plump  white 
ducks,  sailing  from  the  open  into  a  little  bushy 
cove. 

"  Quick  as  a  lightning-bug,  the  pups  splashed 
after  them,  Rory  O'Moore  leading,  for  he  was  a 
special  pet  of  Mr.  Hugh's,  and  had  taken  swim 
ming  lessons  from  Hamlet  in  the  kennel  pool, 
once  crossing  the  river.  The  ducks  dove,  and 
scattered,  but  the  pups  seized  a  long  neck  each, 
and,  determined  not  to  go  hungry  this  time,  took 
their  game  to  the  shelter  of  the  very  door-steps  of 
the  mill  to  make  a  luncheon.  Poor  pups  !  they 
knew  no  better,  but  they  do  now,  for  the  big 
miller  caught  them  and  dropped  them  into  an 
empty  feed  bin,  where  it  was  nearly  dark,  and  oh, 
so  stuffy  !  Then  the  turkey  farmer  driving  down 
the  road  pulled  up,  and  after  some  talk  the  miller 
got  in  with  him,  and  they  drove  off  together,  the 
turkeys  and  two  ducks  packed  in  the  wagon  box 
for  witnesses. 

"  It  was  lonely  that  day  up  in  the  kennel  yard,  I 


"OVER   THE    HILLS   AND   FAR   AWAY!"        293 

can  tell  you.  Flo  said  it  made  her  feel  like  the 
leaf-fall  time,  when  she  had  the  distemper,  and  all 
the  bird  dogs  had  gone  travelling  in  their  crates 
but  she;  and  she  was  glad  to  talk  to  a  lame- 
winged  crow  that  came  to  beg,  for  the  only 
grown  dog  in  the  big  lot  was  old  Antonio,  and 
with  him  the  young  spaniels  Ruth,  Dell,  and 
Una,  who  plagued  his  wits  out  by  chasing  him 
round  and  round  the*  pool,  and  daring  him  to 
swim. 

"  Meanwhile  the  beagles  were  all  over  the  woods, 
and  I  —  well,  I  went  with  them,  just  for  old  ac 
quaintance'  sake,  you  know.  There  were  plenty 
of  young  rabbits  round  about,  but  somehow  we 
were  confused,  and  let  them  slip  ;  too  many  trails 
are  worse  than  none,  I  find.  But  just  before  even 
ing  Clover-Dew,  my  litter  brother,  and  Briar,  my 
aunt,  broke  loose,  going  off  together,  and  I  fol 
lowing,  for  they  ran  well,  and  the  trail  lay 
straight. 

"  Up  from  the  wood  they  went,  across  pastures 
and  a  truck  farm,  until  they  gave  tongue  that 
the  scent  was  hot,  and  the  quarry  close  in  front, 
then  I  saw  two  big  rabbits  that  were  the  poorest 
leapers  of  any  I  ever  knew.  Will  you  believe  it, 
Waddles,  they  even  sat  up  once  or  twice  and 
looked  back  at  us.  We  overtook  them  in  a  fence 


294  DOGTOWN 

corner  that  had  a  garden  on  the  other  side.  We 
three  charged  together,  and  there  was  a  great 
tussle,  for  if  those  rabbits  were  stupid  about  run 
ning,  they  were  fine  kickers.  Just  as  I  had  the 
biggest  well  by  the  leg,  a  man  and  a  little  girl  came 
to  the  fence,  and  when  she  saw  what  we  were 
doing,  she  began  to  hop  up  and  down  and  scream, 
and  cry,  "  Oh,  papa,  save  my  poor  bunnies  !  " 
Then  I  saw  that  she  was  Tommy's  friend,  Pinkie 
Scott,  and  those  fool  rabbits  were  the  foreign  Hare 
things  her  father  gave  her  for  her  birthday,  and 
that  she  keeps  in  a  great  big  bird-cage, — that  is, 
when  she  remembers  to  shut  the  door,  which  isn't 
often.  Of  course,  we  were  polite  and  let  go, 
and  went  a  little  way  back  in  the  field  and  sat 
down  to  rest.  The  rabbits  ?  Oh,  one  wasn't 
hurt,  but  the  other  was — well — damaged;  they 
mended  him,  for  I  saw  him  last  week  when  I 
was  down  there  to  call  on  Luck  and  Pluck  with 
Tommy.  Pinkie  had  forgotten  again,  and  those 
rabbits  had  broken  loose  and  eaten  all  the  late 
lettuce,  and  her  father  was  chasing  them,  and  he 
said,  'I  wish  those  little  hounds  had  finished 
you  last  summer.'  Then  I  didn't  feel  quite  so 
ashamed  of  biting  that  hind  leg  as  I  had  before, 
and,  Waddles,  do  you  know,  that  everywhere  I  go 
to  visit,  private  rabbits  seem  to  be  a  nuisance,  and 


"OVER   THE   HILLS   AND   FAR   AWAY!"       295 

a  'better  be  dead';  so  I'm  sure  they  ought  to  be 
fair  hunting,  like  the  wild  ones." 

"Humph!"  said  Waddles,  "good  running  as 
usual,  but  poor  catching.  What  did  the  fox 
hounds  get,  a  mouthful  of  thistle-down  ?  " 

"  Ah  !  but  they  had  the  best  of  it,"  said  Happy, 
her  eyes  sparkling  ;  "  they  stayed  out  two  whole 
days,  and  when  they  had  tired  out  the  stray  dogs 
that  followed  and  the  young  dogs  that  only 
wanted  to  play,  they  settled  down  to  work.  They 
knew  their  ground  well  for  they'd  just  been  on  a 
spring  run  with  the  squire  and  Mr.  Hugh  to 
locate  the  dens  for  fall  work.  Late  the  next 
night,  Flo  says,  the  squire's  Harkaway  and 
Meadow-Lark  gave  tongue  so  loudly  that  the 
squire  and  Mr.  Hugh  went  out,  and  following 
the  cry  two  miles  found  them  just  as  they  had 
killed  an  old  gray  fox,  the  biggest  hen-roost  rob 
ber  of  all  the  Pine  Ridge  pack,  one  they  had  tried 
to  shoot  and  trap  for  years,  as  his  scars  quickly 
told  them. 

"  Wasn't  the  squire  proud !  He  gave  Miss  Jule 
the  brush,  though  it  wasn't  good  for  much,  —  pelts 
are  poor  in  summer,  —  and  he  made  a  meat  feast  for 
all  the  hounds,  for  after  they  had  heard  Meadow- 
Lark's  death  bay  they  came  limping  back  one  by 
one.  Next  day  when  I  went  up  to  talk  to  Silver- 


296 


DOGTOWN 


Tongue  he  was  standing  as  usual  by  the  sluiceway 
of  the  swimming-pool  catching  frogs,  but  when  I 
asked  him  to  come  over  by  the  fence  and  lie  down, 
and  tell  me  about  the  great  hunt,  he  said  he'd 
rather  stand  up  for  he  didn't  bend  well.  That  is 
one  of  the  hardest  things  about  not  running  free, 
you  don't  get  your  exercise  every  day  when  you 
want  it,  but  when  somebody  else  does,  and  then  it 


"OVER   THE    HILLS   AND   FAR    AWAY!"       297 

comes  all  together  in  bunches,  and  between  times 
you  get  rusty." 

"What  happened  about  Mr.  Hugh's  pups,  did 
he  get  them  back,  and  the  turkeys  and  ducks?" 
asked  Waddles,  who  was  beginning  to  grow  sleepy. 

"Bills  happened  and  lots  of  talking,  Hamlet 
told  me  about  that  and  Mr.  Wolf.  The  farmer 
and  the  miller  wouldn't  give  back  the  dogs  until 
they  got  their  money  either,  and  Hamlet  says  if 
Mr.  Hugh  teases  Miss  Letty  she  only  has  to  sing 
4  Over  the  hills  and  far  away  ! '  and  he  stops,  but  I 
don't  see  what  that  has  got  to  do  with  it,  do  you?  " 

"  Hush ! "  signalled  Waddles,  knocking  on  the 
floor  with  his  tail  to  attract  Happy's  attention, 
"  Missy  is  coming !  " 

Yes,  Anne  was  coming  downstairs,  not  barefoot 
this  time,  but  dressed  in  a  warm,  red  bath  gown, 
her  feet  in  moccasins,  and  looking  in  the  dim 
light  very  like  the  Indian  maidens  she  loved  to  call 
her  kin.  She  had  been  planning  what  picture  she 
would  take  first  on  the  morrow,  arid  she  thought 
her  camera  might  be  safer  in  her  room  ;  at  any  rate 
if  she  put  it  on  the  chair  beside  her  bed  she  would 
see  it  the  moment  she  opened  her  eyes,  for  this 
camera  was  not  merely  a  picture  machine  to  her, 
but  a  magical  live  thing  to  help  her  keep  the 
images  of  those  she  loved. 


298  DOGTOWN 

She  was  just  deciding  that  Waddles  should 
have  the  honour  of  being  the  first  to  be  photo 
graphed,  as  he  would  probably  be  ready  sooner 
than  her  mother,  when  the  burned-out  log  fell 
apart,  and  its  parting  glow  showed  her  Happy, 
lying  on  the  hearth-rug. 

"  You  in  here  !  This  will  never  do  ;  because, 
you  see,  when  I  bought  you  from  Miss  Jule, 
mother  said  that  you  might  come  here  if  I  prom 
ised  that  I  would  never  let  you  sleep  inside  the 
house,  not  even  once  ;  as,  being  a  kennel  dog  so 
long,  your  manners  are  not  quite  those  of  a  house 
fourfoot,  — and  I  promised.  Yes,  I  know  it's  very 
nice  in  here  ;  but  your  house  is  nice,  too,  for  Baldy 
put  in  a  new  bed  to-night, and  you'll  be  very  comfy; 
and  you  know,  my  dear,  you  do  snore  horribly, — 
such  loud,  growling  snores.  Besides,  Jack  Wad 
dles  is  out  there  alone  waiting  for  you.  Ah  !  do 
you  mean  to  be  spunky  ?  Then  I  shall  call  father, 
—  no,  I  forgot ;  he  is  busy  in  the  study,  and  it's 
a  4  mustn't  be '  to  disturb  him  when  he  is  there, 
you  know,  —  only  mother  may  do  that.  So  don't 
roll  over  on  your  back ;  you  are  far  too  heavy  for 
me  to  carry." 

Anne  gave  a  stamp  and  pointed  to  the  door, — 
her  way  of  telling  the  deaf  little  beagle  that  she 
meant  business;  and  Happy  got  up  slowly,  and 


"OVER  THE   HILLS   AND   FAR   AWAY!"       299 

crept,  rather  than  walked,  out,  and  made  directly 
for  the  nursery  kennel,  which  she  still  occupied, 
without  more  ado.  Jack  was,  of  course,  delighted 
to  see  her ;  but,  strange  to  say,  she  did  not  return 
his  caresses,  but  growled  and  snapped  at  him,  and 
refused  to  let  him  go  near  the  bedroom  end  of 
the  house,  which  was  separated  from  the  front 
part  and  was  full  of  straw.  Instead  of  lying 
down  at  once,  she  rummaged  about  in  the  straw 
restlessly,  throwing  it  out  on  the  floor  and  refusing 
to  lie  down.  After  two  rebuffs,  Jack  left  the 
kennel,  and  stood  looking  disconsolately  at  Anne, 
who  was  quite  puzzled,  and  finally  allowed  Jack 
Waddles  to  go  back  to  the  house  with  her,  saying 
as  they  went :  "  This  is  quite  a  new  arrangement, 
and  to-morrow  Jackie  shall  have  a  place  of  his 
own,  if  mamma  is  going  to  be  cross.  To-night, 
and  maybe  always,  he  shall  be  a  house  fourfoot, 
like  his  papa,  if  he  will  mind  his  ways  and  keep 
on  his  own  rug." 

Next  morning  there  was  a  still  newer  order  of 
things  that  quite  settled  the  matter  of  Jack's 
quarters,  and  also  gave  Anne  an  unlimited  chance 
for  photography  as  well. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE    SIXLETS 

ANNE  was  unusually  drowsy  the  next  morning, 
because  she  had  not  gone  to  sleep  until  quite  late. 
Every  time  she  began  to  sail  off  to  the  pleasant 
island  where  the  Land  of  Nod  is  located,  the  new 
camera  bobbed  up  and  pushed  her  ashore  again, 
and  finally  when  she  really  drifted  beyond  its 
reach,  she  had  a  dim  idea  that  it  was  skipping 
after  her,  on  its  long  thin  legs,  like  a  water  spider. 

At  any  rate  she  stumbled  about  in  a  most  un 
usual  fashion,  forgot  that  Jack  Waddles  had  slept 
indoors  for  the  first  time  and  must  be  let  out  early, 
until  Waddles  came  in  and  literally  dug  her  out 
of  bed  as  if  she  had  been  a  woodchuck  in  its  hole, 
and  ran  baying  in  front  of  her  to  the  hall  door. 
Next  she  almost  overflowed  the  bath-tub  by  filling 
it  so  full  that  there  was  no  room  for  the  bather,  and 
finally  found  herself  sitting  by  the  window  won 
dering  whether  putting  your  stockings  on  wrong 

300 


THE  SIXLETS  303 

side  out  was,  as  Mary  Ann  said,  a  sign  of  good 
luck,  or  merely  stupidity  on  the  part  of  the. 
wearer.  Just  as  she  had  decided  that  she  would 
leave  them  on  to  see  what  happened,  and  securely 
tied  her  tan  colored  shoes,  Tommy  came  running 
up  and  began  to  dance  and  shout  under  the  win 
dow  in  a  state  of  wild  excitement. 

Now  Tommy  was  a  confirmed  "  lie  a-bed,"  and 
to  see  him  out  before  breakfast  was  a  cause  of 
wonder  in  itself  ;  but  when  Anne  heard  the  words, 
"  Happy  —  tiny  little  puppies  —  bit  Jack  Wad 
dles,"  she  simply  jumped  into  her  petticoats  and 
nearly  fell  out  of  the  window  as  she  fastened  her 
collar,  calling,  "  Puppies  !  Where  ?  Whose  ?  " 

"  In  the  nursery  kennel,  ours  and  Happy's,  of 
course.  Jackie  Waddles  wants  to  lick  them  and 
she  won't  let  him,  and  Baldy  wouldn't  let  me  have 
but  one  look  because  he  says  light  isn't  good  for 
them  and  they're  ever  so  little  and  queer  like 
Pinkie's  Guinea  pigs." 

"How  many  are  there,  twins  like  Jack  and 
Jill  ?  "  asked  Anne,  again  nearly  popping  out  of 
the  window,  while  she  tied  a  blue  ribbon  at  the 
top  of  her  hair,  and  a  pink  one  at  the  end  of  her 
braid  in  her  excitement. 

Tommy  darted  off  to  consult  Baldy  who  was 
bringing  in  the  vegetables,  and  returned  holding 


304  DOGTOWN 

up  to  his  sister's  view  one  hand  and  the  thumb  of 

the   other  as  he  counted  —  "  One  —  two  —  three 

—  four  —  five  —  six  —  there's  sixlets,  Anne,    and 

Baldy  says  that  three's  girls  and  three's  boys  !  " 

"Then  there  are  three  pairs  of  twins,"  said 
Anne,  coming  out  of  the  side  door.  "  Of  course 
Jackie's  nose  is  broken,  the  poor  dear!  See  him 
look  in  my  face  as  if  he  didn't  understand  why  his 
mother  should  turn  him  off  so.  Never  mind,  when 
little  brothers  grow  up  you  will  have  great  sport 
playing  with  them,  and  seeing  they  don't  get  in 
mischief,  and  meantime  you  shall  be  assistant 
house  fourfoot,  sleep  on  the  front  door-mat,  and 
'watch  out'  for  your  living  with  papa  Waddles." 

After  breakfast  the  entire  family,  augmented 
by  Miss  Jule,  who  had  stopped  in  on  her  way  to 
the  village,  went  to  see  the  pups,  and  though 
Happy  was  evidently  pleased  at  the  attention,  she 
would  not  let  any  one  but  Anne  come  very  near, 
and  kept  herself  between  the  visitors  and  the 
precious  "sixlets." 

"If  you  take  my  advice,"  said  Miss  Jule  to 
Anne,  "  you  will  have  Baldy  sweep  all  that  loose 
straw  out ;  it  is  hard  for  the  pups  to  move  about 
in,  and  by  and  by,  when  their  eyes  begin  to  open, 
the  sharp  ends  will  stick  into  them.  I'll  send  you 
down  a  barrel  of  prepared  sawdust.  If  you  sprinkle 


THE   SIXLETS  305 

it  an  inch  thick  on  the  floor  of  the  bedroom  part, 
and  then  lay  a  breadth  of  clean  old  straw  matting 
on  top,  it  will  make  the  nicest  sort  of  a  bed,  and 
if  it  grows  cold  of  nights  before  they  are  old 
enough  to  live  in  the  cow  barn,  I'll  lend  you 
one  of  my  little  kennel  stoves  with  a  protector 
around  it. 

"  Then  until  they  are  two  weeks  old,  when 
their  eyes  will  not  only  be  opened,  but  they  can 
really  see  with  them,  you  must  care  for  Happy 
entirely  yourself,  give  her  food  and  water,  see 
that  the  door  of  her  yard  is  open  so  that  she  can 
get  in  and  out  at  will  and  keep  herself  clean,  and 
do  not  let  anybody  handle  the  pups,  for  as  soon 
as  the  news  gets  about,  Pinkie,  Jessie,  Sophie, 
Charlie,  and  Jack  will  be  here  in  a  flock,  and  it's 
as  uncomfortable  for  pups  to  be  loved  to  death  as 
to  die  any  other  way." 

Miss  Jule  thoughtfully  asked  Tommy  to  ride 
on  to  the  village  with  her,  and  then  go  home  and 
help  her  pick  crab-apples  for  jelly  that  Miss  Letty 
had  promised  to  make.  It  was  almost  impossible 
for  him  to  keep  his  hands  off  the  little  creatures, 
and  the  chance  of  climbing  and  shaking  the  crab- 
apple  trees  and  picking  up  the  shining  red  fruit 
would  hardly  have  been  a  counter  attraction  if  it 
had  not  been  capped  writh  the  idea  of  helping 


306  DOGTOWN 

Miss  Letty  with  the  jelly.  The  skimmings  of  a 
jelly  pot  are  very  good  when  spread  thick  on  thin 
bread,  and  the  idea  flashed  through  Tommy's  head 
that  as  it  was  Miss  Letty's  first  jelly-making  she 
would  be  very  apt  to  skim  deep,  and  the  results 
would  be  plentiful. 

Baldy  arranged  the  house  as  Miss  Jule  sug 
gested,  that  afternoon,  also  making  a  little  win 
dow  at  the  top  of  the  bed  corner  for  ventilation, 
and  Anne  established  the  "  dining  room,"  as  she 
called  it,  in  the  front  half,  where  the  food  and 
water  dishes  could  have  a  place  clean  and  apart. 
Here  for  two  weeks  dwelt  the  "sixlets,"  having 
no  separate  names  or  identity,  except  in  the  eyes 
of  Anne,  who  knew  them  apart  before  they  were 
anything  but  six  insatiable  mouths. 

Middle  September  brought  some  very  warm 
days  with  it,  and  with  all  the  doors  wide  open 
Happy  moved  to  the  dining  room,  where  the  air 
was  better,  and  was  at  home  to  any  admiring 
friends  who  chose  to  call,  though  she  did  not  yet 
care  to  have  the  puppies  touched,  and  had  much 
more  confidence  in  grown  people  than  in  children. 

The  pups  were  a  source  of  endless  wonder  to 
Anne,  for  though  she  had  watched  Jack  and  Jill 
grow  up,  she  had  not  seen  much  of  them  during 
the  first  two  or  three  weeks  of  their  life,  as  they 


THE   SIXLETS 


307 


had  been  born  in 
the  barn  at  a  time 
when  she  was 
very  busy  with 
her  lessons,  and 
had  not  been 
brought  to  live 
in  the  nursery 
kennel  until  their 
eyes  were  open. 
The  sixlets, 
moreover,  were 
smaller,  seem 
ingly  of  a  dain 
tier  build,  and 
gave  promise  of 
being  true  bea 
gles,  and  not  tak 
ing  after  their 
unacknowledged 
grandfather,  the 
foxhound. 

At  first  their 
faces  were  blunt 
and  heavy,  and 
their  rounded  ears  too  thick  to  turn  over  and 
droop;  but  their  fur  was  of  exquisite  softness, 


308  DOGTOWN 

and  the  prettily  rounded  paws  and  fore  legs  looked 
as  if  they  were  encased  in  silky  mousquetaire 
gloves,  while  the  pads  on  the  soles  were  full  and 
pink,  and  seemed  by  far  too  delicate  to  be  used 
as  shoes.  Cleaner,  sweeter  little  things  it  would 
be  impossible  to  imagine,  for  as  soon  as  Happy 
finished  feeding  and  polishing  number  six,  she 
would  begin  again  with  number  one. 

When  they  were  two  vweeks  old  Happy  gradu 
ally  took  more  exercise.  The  pups  gained  their 
footing  and  began  to  shuffle  about,  so  Baldy  de 
vised  a  day  nursery  where  they  might  have  a 
change  and  sunlight,  as  well  as  give  the  nursery 
kennel  a  chance  to  be  aired  and  swept  every  day. 
This  day  nursery  consisted  of  four  wide  boards, 
about  four  feet  long,  nailed  together  to  form  a 
bottomless  box.  It  was  light  enough  for  Anne 
to  move  it  about  easily,  according  to  whether  a 
sunny  or  a  shady  spot  was  desirable ;  this  also 
secured  a  fresh  grass  carpet  at  all  times,  when 
the  ground  was  dry. 

No  sooner  were  the  pups  allowed  to  leave  the 
kennel  than  Jack  Waddles  came  from  the  south 
piazza,  where  he  had  been  moping  and  showing 
all  the  symptoms  of  a  severe  case  of  that  painful 
but  riot  fatal  disease  called  "nose  out  of  joint," 
and  made  himself  not  only  their  guardian,  but 


THE   SIXLETS 


309 


almost  foster-mother.  At  first  Happy  seemed  to 
suspect  his  motives,  but  they  soon  came  to  an 
understanding,  and  it  was  a  regulation  thing  for 
her  to  go  for  her  morning  exercise  as  soon  as  he 
came  from  the  house.  Not  only  would  Jack  get 
into  the  pen  and  quiet  the  pups  if  they  felt  lonely, 
but  he  often  gave  them  their  morning  bath  as  well ; 


and  Anne  had  both  Miss  Jule  and  Mr.  Hugh  as 
witnesses  to  the  fact  that  he  once  washed  the 
whole  six,  one  by  one,  moving  each  into  a  dif 
ferent  part  of  the  enclosure  as  he  finished  it,  then 
collected  them,  and  cuddled  them  to  sleep,  when 
their  mother  had  remained  away  over  long,  and 
they  were  yelping. 

One  pup,  a   serious   looking   little  chap,  with 
the  longest  ears  of  all,  and  a  quaint,  old-fashioned 


310  DOGTOWN 

hound  face,  was  his  favourite,  and  he  would  nose 
him  out  of  the  day  nursery,  take  him  to  a  sunny 
place,  and  there  mount  guard  over  him,  lying  nose 
to  nose,  with  an  expression  of  mingled  love  and 
pride,  so  that  in  these  days  Jack  was  always  called 
Big  Brother. 

"  I  wonder  if  Happy  will  try  to  take  them  into 
the  cooler  the  same  as  she  did  Jack  and  Jill?" 
said  Anne  to  Miss  Jule  one  day,  when  she  was 
telling  her  of  some  newly  discovered  wonder  in 
the  pups. 

"Not  at  this  season  of  the  year;  she  is  more 
likely  to  search  out  an  oven  for  them.  Where 
are  they?  I  see  they  are  not  in  their  day  nur 
sery." 

"  Then  Tommy  must  have  taken  them  out  and 
forgotten  them,  for  they  can't  climb  over  the  board 
yet;  at  least  I  think  not,"  said  Anne,  running 
hither  and  thither.  They  were  not  in  the  kennel, 
or  any  of  the  piazzas,  neither  back  of  the  lilac 
hedge,  nor  in  any  of  the  many  places  that  the  dogs 
choose  for  sunning  themselves.  Tommy  stoutly 
denied  that  he  had  taken  them  out,  but  added, 
"  I  shouldn't  think  they  would  have  liked  to  stay 
where  you  put  them  this  morning,  for  it  was  right 
under  the  edge  of  the  big  apple  tree,  and  every 
minute  apples  fell  down  plunk." 


THE   SIXLETS  311 

A  look  in  the  day  nursery  proved  this  to  be 
perfectly  true,  for  it  contained  half  a  dozen  sizable 
apples. 

Anne  was  worried,  for  though  it  was  now  cer 
tain  that  the  pups  had  gotten  out  by  themselves, 
no  one  had  seen  either  Happy  or  her  family. 

"  They  are  safe  enough  somewhere,  though  it  is 
hard  to  tell  just  where  she  has  taken  them,"  said 
Miss  Jule.  "  Happy  evidently  was  not  satisfied 
with  the  location  of  the  nursery  to-day,  and  she 
is  teaching  you  a  lesson.  I  don't  blame  her, 
either ;  for  you  left  them  under  a  cannonade  of 
apples,  in  a  sharp  draught,  as  well." 

Anne's  father  and  mother,  Baldy,  and  also 
Mary  Anne  came  out  and  joined  the  hunt,  Anne 
even  insisting  that  Baldy  should  pull  out  some  of 
the  stones  where  the  entrance  to  Jack  and  Jill's 
cooling  house  had  been. 

After  a  while  the  elders  grew  tired,  and  went 
into  the  garden-house  where  Anne's  mother  often 
brewed  tea  these  cool  afternoons,  for,  as  she  said, 
Happy  would  soon  come  for  her  supper,  and  then 
they  could  trace  the  pups. 

This  was  too  inactive  a  method  to  suit  Anne 
and  Tommy,  so  they  continued  to  rummage  in 
every  nook  and  corner  that  was  big  enough  to 
hold  a  hen's  egg.  Suddenly  they  set  up  a  shout 


312 


DOGTOWN 


at  the  same  time,  and  the  tea  drinkers  hurrying 
out  beheld  a  funny  sight.  There  were  several 
hot-bed  frames  set  against  the  stone  wall.  In  the 
spring  they  were  used  for  forcing  early  vegetables, 
and  starting  the  flower  seeds,  while  a  few  plants 
remained  in  them  here  and  there.  One  part  where 
the  sun  shone  brightest  had  been  cleared  and 
sown  with  the  fall  planting  of  pansies,  which  were 
just  above  ground.  In  this,  surrounded  by  the 
sixlets,  sat  Happy !  The  sixlets  were  also  hav 
ing  afternoon  tea,  with  their  fat  little  stomachs 
resting  on  the  hot  earth  that  their  mother  had 
thoroughly  scratched  up  to  make  it  the  softer  for 
them. 

"  Well,  I  think  what  I  said  has  come  true,"  said 
Miss  Jule,  leading  the  general   laugh   in    which 


THE   SIXLETS  313 

Anne's  mother  joined  rather  feebly,  on  account  of 
the  destruction  of  the  pansies.  "  Happy  seems  to 
have  chosen  the  nearest  approach  to  an  oven  that 
she  could  find.  See,  Anne,  there  is  one  underneath 
all  the  others,  the  pup  with  the  dark  ear,  and  that 
poor  thing  always  seems  to  be  underneath.  What 
is  her  name?  " 

"  We  haven't  named  them  yet,  but  we  are  going 
to  to-morrow,  because  it  will  be  their  three  weeks 
old  birthday.  Oh,  do  look  quick  at  that  one  with 
the  black  and  tan  head,  she  is  really  scratching 
her  ear  with  her  hind  paw,  the  darling !  " 

All  this  time  Waddles  was  acting  in  a  most 
strange  manner.  He  had  sometimes  played  with 
Jack  and  Jill,  always  came  when  they  cried  or 
seemed  in  trouble,  and  literally  mounted  guard 
over  the  nursery  kennel,  from  out  of  his  fastness 
under  the  cellar  door.  But  now  the  sight  of  the 
sixlets  seemed  to  fill  him  with  terror,  and  he 
would  not  walk  around  that  side  of  the  house 
while  they  were  in  sight,  though  he  continued  to 
be  very  polite  to  Happy,  and  allow  her  to  rob  his 
food  dish  at  her  sweet  will.  He  acted  very  much 
as  a  man  might  when  his  spouse  is  too  busy  with 
a  large  family  to  give  him  any  attention  —  he 
went  off  with  his  men  friends,  Mr.  Wolf,  Quick, 
Tip,  and  Colin,  and  hunted  sometimes  until  early 


314  DOGTOWN 

morning,  much  to  Anne's  disgust  and  the  spoiling 
of  his  well-kept  'appearance ;  for  Waddles  had  al 
ways  been  a  dandy  in  his  bachelor  days. 

These  were  busy  times  for  Anne's  camera ;  but, 
as  her  father  told  her,  she  was  beginning  with 
almost  the  most  difficult  things  that  can  be  photo 
graphed —  living  animals,  which  must  be  caught 
by  snap-shots.  And  in  order  to  succeed  with 
these,  one  must  have  skill  as  well  as  experience 
to  know  what  it  is  possible  to  take  and  what  never 
can  be  caught  at  all. 

Anne  had  succeeded  in  making  a  very  good 
portrait  of  her  mother  sitting  under  the  trees 
reading,  also  one  of  Waddles  guarding  his  meat- 
dish  ;  though  she  wasted  enough  developer  upon 
them  to  have  served  a  dozen  plates.  Thus  en 
couraged,  she  began  to  snap  wildly  at  the  puppies, 
getting  some  very  laughable  results,  and  learning 
that  if  she  was  not  going  to  spend  her  whole 
year's  pocket  money  in  a  single  week,  she  must 
take  better  aim  before  she  fired. 

One  plate  had  only  two  pairs  of  back  legs  on  it, 
another  a  grotesque  head  of  Happy,  who  had 
been  facing  the  camera  at  such  close  range  that 
she  was  all  head  and  her  body  dwindled  away 
to  nothing.  Another  one,  of  the  puppies  gath 
ered  around  their  dish  learning  to  drink,  was 


THE   SIXLETS  315 

a  hazy  mass  of  wagging  tails,  and  so  on ;  but 
the  oddest  picture  of  all  was  of  Mr.  Hugh  bowing 
to  Miss  Letty  as  they  met  him  on  the  road.  Why 
it  was  no  one  could  tell,  but  it  made  him  look 
so  like  a  jumping-jack  that  no  one  could  look 
at  it  without  laughing ;  that  is,  no  one  but  Mr. 
Hugh,  who  flushed  up  and  said  that  Anne  had 
been  cheated  in  the  lens. 

"No,  it's  a  good  eye;  father  says  so,'r  put  in 
matter-of-fact  Tommy,  who  usually  championed 
Anne  and  her  possessions.  "  It  just  saw  you  that 
way  and  put  it  down." 

"  If  other  people  see  me  that  way,  I  don't  won 
der  that  they  always  make  fun  of  me,  and  don't 
like  me,"  said  Mr.  Hugh,  looking  unthinkingly 
toward  where  Miss  Letty  was  playing  tennis  with 
Anne  and  a  good-looking  college  fellow  named 
Yarley  who  was  a  chum  of  Pinkie  Scott's  big 
brother ;  for  Mr.  Hugh  was  too  practical  and  slow 
to  take  a  joke  quickly,  which  was  the  one  defect 
that  kept  him  from  being  altogether  charming. 

"  I  don't  think  looks  matters  much.  If  you  just 
like  things,  you  see  'em  all  right.  I  loved  Lily 
dog,  but  she  was  really  ever  so  homely,  Anne  says, 
lots  worse  than  your  picture,  and  I  kept  Miss 
Letty  for  my  sweetheart  all  that  week  the  poison 
ivy  made  her  eyes  little  and  buried  her  nose,"  he 


816  DOGTOWN 

added,  swelling  with  boastful  pride  at  his  fidelity. 
Thus  did  Tommy  manage  to  alternately  warm 
and  chill  the  friendship  between  his  two  friends. 


At  three  weeks  the  pups  were  not  only  fas 
cinating  from  their  baby  ways  but  for  their 
intelligence  as  well ;  and  in  the  matter  of  points, 
Squire  Burley  pronounced  them  quite  remarkable 
for  their  age,  Miss  Jule  adding  that  it  was  a  well- 
known  fact  that  beagles  developed  more  quickly 
than  almost  any  other  breed  of  dog;  while  the 
fact  that  they  could  lap  milk  nicely  was  a  great 
help  to  Happy  in  keeping  her  larder  well  filled, 
for  catering  for  one  pair  of  twins  was  wholly 
different  from  supplying  three  pairs. 

They  had  just  been  frisking  about  their  dish, 
rolling  and  playing,  when  Anne  and  Tommy  came 
out  from  breakfast,  bent  upon  the  important  busi 
ness  of  naming  them. 

"  Ouch !  their  teeth  have  come,  and  sharp  as 
fishes',  too !  "  exclaimed  Tommy,  who  had  expe 
rience  both  with  fish-teeth  and  fish-hooks,  quickly 
withdrawing  an  inquisitive  finger. 

"  Don't  tease  them,"  cautioned  Anne  ;  "if  we  are 
to  name  them,  it  must  be  done  properly,  so  that 
they  won't  feel  sorry  about  it  when  they  grow  up. 


Naming  the  Pups. 


THE   SIXLETS  319 

I  want  to  give  them  real  names  we  can  call  them, 
and  not  have  them  registered  under  one  name, 
like  Cadence,  and  always  called  another." 

"  Try  to  call  them  something  that  you  can 
shorten,"  said  Anne's  father,  stopping  on  his  way 
to  the  dark  house.  He,  too,  had  been  lured  from 
the  study  many  times  to  take  pictures  of  the 
puppies  ;  but  he  refused  to  show  the  results  until 
they  were  properly  finished. 

"  We  might  call  them  after  birds,"  said  Anne, 
who  had  been  looking  through  the  trees  down  to 
the  distant  meadows,  where  many  birds  were 
flocking  before  starting  on  their  autumn  travels. 

"  Yes,  let's,"  agreed  Tommy,  quickly.  "  Jay'd 
be  a  first-rate  name  for  one,"  he  added,  as  one 
of  those  bold-talking  sneak-thieves  called  over 
head. 

Anne  laughed,  in  spite  of  not  knowing  exactly 
why,  saying,  "  I  don't  think  Jay  will  quite  do ; 
because  when  people  are  stupid  and  disagreeable 
at  the  same  time,  and  do  not  know  it,  people  often 
call  them  Jays." 

Just  then  a  sweet  note  came  from  the  field,  —  a 
real  April  voice,  —  saying,  "  Spring  o'  the  year." 
"  It's  a  Meadow  Lark,"  said  Anne,  "  and  I  will 
name  this  dear  little  fellow  with  the  even  white 
face  mark  and  black  tail  spot  after  it,  and  call  him 


320  DOGTOWN 

Lark  for  short,  because  I'm  going  to  keep  him  for 
our  very  own." 

"  Aren't  we  going  to  keep  them  all  ?  "  pleaded 
Tommy,  looking  up  with  beseeching  eyes,  while 
his  chin  quivered. 

"  Not  all,  and  perhaps  only  two,  one  for  each  of 
us  ;  father  said  so  last  night.  There  are  too 
many  ;  but  we  may  keep  them  all  winter,  so  that 
they  will  be  strong  and  well-grown  before  they 
go  to  the  homes  Miss  Jule  will  find  for  them,  or 
perhaps  Mr. Hugh  will  keep  them  himself." 

"  Let's  call  another  Bobwhite, —  this  boy  with 
the  very  white  face,"  said  Anne,  a  moment  later, 
after  each  pup  had  been  held  up  in  turn  to  see 
if  its  face  suggested  anything. 

"  Yes,  that'll  be  fine ;  'cause  don't  you  remember 
that  one  that  used  to  come  over  here  to  feed,  and 
brought  the  little  ones  one  morning  ?  Now  it's 
my  turn,"  said  Tommy,  picking  up  the  prettiest 
of  the  three  females,  who  had  lovely  even  tan 
markings  on  the  head,  a  white  nose,  and  the 
manners  of  a  finished  coquette.  "I'll  name  her 
—  I'll  name  her  — "  he  said,  hesitating,  and 
looking  up  into  the  trees,  as  no  name  occurred 
to  him. 

"Phoebe,  Phoebe,"  called  that  demure  fly 
catcher,  balancing  on  the  telephone  wire. 


THE   SIXLETS  821 

"  Yes,  I'll  call  her  Phoebe,"  said  Tommy,  in  a 
tone  of  relief ;  and  Anne  thought  it  the  very  thing. 

"Now  this  one,  Jack  Waddles's  pet,  and  we  will 
be  through  with  the  boys." 

"  You  name  him,"  said  Tommy,  having  found 
the  matter  more  of  a  puzzle  than  a  pleasure. 

"  There  is  a  lovely  western  sparrow,  with  a 
yellow  vest  and  black  cravat,  that  I've  seen  in 
the  museum,  and  its  name  is  Dickcissel.  I'll  name 
him  that,  and  we  can  call  him  Dick,"  said  Anne, 
after  several  more  minutes  spent  in  thinking. 
"  That  makes  four  after  birds,  so  we  might  name 
the  others  for  something  else.  This  one  that's  all 
white  but  one  ear  spot,  we  could  call  Blanche, 
only  it's  hard  to  say." 

"  Lily's  nicer.  I'll  let  you  call  it  after  my  dear 
old  doggie,"  said  Tommy,  as  if  conferring  a  great 
favour. 

"  I  don't  think  she's  going  to  stay  so  very 
white,"  replied  Anne,  after  examining  the  pup's 
coat  critically.  "  I  think  she  will  have  black  and 
brown  tick  marks  like  her  grandmother." 

"  Then  call  her  Tiger  Lily,  they  are  all  spotted," 
cried  Tommy,  triumphantly,  which  tickled  Anne 
so  that  she  hugged  him  for  his  wit;  and  Tiger 
Lily  the  pup  was,  and  lived  to  be  a  great 
hunter. 


322 


DOGTOWN 


"  Now  for  the  last,  the  soft,  fat,  dark  one.  Some 
how  she  reminds  me  of  a  comfortable  coloured 
person.  I  know,  we'll  call  her  Dinah,  the  very 
thing!  and  Di  will  do  for  short."  So  the  last 
pup  was  duly  named  and  put  down,  and  Anne 


proposed  that  they  should  rest  their  heads  by 
wheeling  up  to  the  Hilltop  Kennels  to  tell 
Miss  Jule  about  the  names,  when  Tommy,  who 
was  looking  after  the  pups  who  had  scampered 
away  on  being  released,  grasped  Anne's  arm 
and  pointed  after  them.  Wonder  of  wonders  ! 
Phoebe  was  holding  Bob  by  the  hind  leg,  while 
fat  Dinah  played  leap-frog  over  his  back  in  a 
clumsy  but  perfectly  serious  manner,  doing  it 
not  once  but  many  times,  and  she  was  only  three 
weeks  old ! 


THE   SIXLETS  323 

In  the  matter  of  training  and  education  it 
makes  a  deal  of  difference  to  the  mother  as  to 
whether  her  family  consists  of  few  or  many,  and 
Anne  learned  many  new  points  in  dog  law  during 
the  next  few  weeks. 

Happy  continued  to  feed  and  wash  the  six- 
lets  until  they  were  about  two  months  old,  but 
she  did  not  play  with  them,  as  she  had  with 
Jack  and  Jill,  except  upon  rare  occasions,  but 
left  them  to  teach  each  other  and  learn  by  ex 
perience,  while  she  took  a  nap,  near  by  enough 
to  hear  if  anything  went  wrong,  wearing  when 
awake  the  expression  of  being  good-naturedly 
bored. 

It  was  Big  Brother  who  threw  bones  in  the  air 
for  them,  and  gave  them  their  first  taste  of  meat 
by  bringing  home  a  young  woodchuck,  and  drag 
ging  it  into  their  midst ;  when  they  sprang  upon 
it  with  a  fierceness  that  seemed  almost  to  frighten 
gentle  Jack,  and  a  tug-of-war  ensued  in  earnest, 
which  ended  in  the  woodchuck's  tail  giving  way 
and  Dinah  turning  a  back  somersault,  it  was 
saucy  Phoebe  who  dragged  away  the  prize,  and  the 
others  licked  their  lips  with  gusto. 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Miss  Jule,  "  when  it  comes 
time  for  the  hunting  Happy  will  let  no  one  teach 
them  but  herself." 


324 


DOGTOWN 


If  Jack  and  Jill  had  been  time  eaters,  what 
could  be  said  of  the  sixlets  ?  Not  only  did  Anne 
and  Tommy  spend  almost  all  their  hours  out  of 
school  playing  with  the  pups  on  the  sunny  slope, 
but  their  father  had  cut  his  chin  several  times  from 
watching  them  out  of  his  dressing-room  window 
when  he  was  shaving  ;  their  mother  sewed  the 
buttons  on  the  wrong  side  of  Anne's  pinafore,  and 
Mary  Anne  poured  kerosene  into  her  lap  instead 
of  into  the  lamp,  from  the  same  cause. 

The  Hilltop  people  also  were  interested,  in 
spite  of  their  many  dogs;  and  Miss  Jule,  Miss 


THE   SIXLETS  327 

Letty,  Mr.  Hugh,  and  Squire  Burley  all  happened 
in  together  the  afternoon  that  Anne's  father  had 
finished  printing  and  mounting  his  puppy  pic 
tures,  and  they  begged  so  hard  for  copies  of 
them,  that  he  said  he  should  have  to  make  them 
into  an  album  and  let  them  draw  lots  for  it. 
While  Anne  begged  for  a  pair  to  frame,  one  of 
the  sixlets  all  together,  four  in  a  basket,  and  two 
on  the  garden  bench,  and  the  other  of  Dick,  Bob- 
white,  Dinah,  and  Phoebe  in  a  wheelbarrow,  with 
Jack  Waddles  standing  guard  like  a  veritable 
policeman. 

"  I  like  this  picture  best,"  said  Mr.  Hugh,  pick 
ing  up  a  small  photograph  of  Miss  Letty  feeding 
Miss  Jule's  kennel  dogs  ;  "  it's  very  lifelike." 

"  Why,  I  took  that,"  said  Anne,  delighted;  "  and 
I've  done  a  lot  more  pictures  of  the  kennels  be 
side." 

"I'll  tell  you  what  to  do,"  said  Miss  Jule. 
"  Take  all  the  Dogtown  pictures  you  can,  no 
larger  than  this,  mind,  and  we'll  make  them  into 
albums  and  give  them  to  Mrs.  Carr  to  sell,  to 
gether  with  the  knick-knacks  she  makes,  up  at 
Robin  Hood's  Inn  to  help  along  her  fund,  and  I'll 
pay  for  the  materials." 

"  It  will  be  great  fun,"  agreed  Anne;  "  but  what 
is  her  fund  for  ?  I  haven't  heard  of  it." 


328  DOGTOWN 

Miss  Jule  waited  for  Mr.  Hugh  to  speak;  but 
he  turned  his  back  and  stared  out  of  the  win 
dow,  so  she  answered  :  "  Mrs.  Carr  wants  to  have 
a  little  money  every  year  to  help  what  she  calls 
'some  decent  puir  bodies,'  who  have  dogs  that 
they  love,  and  can  feed,  but  for  whom  the  license 
money  is  a  stumbling-block. 

"You  all  know  how  near  she  came  to  losing 
Laddie,  her  collie ;  and  really  might  have  if 
Letty's  bicycle  hadn't  providentially  broken  down, 
Anne  lost  her  way  in  the  back  field,  and  the 
barbed  wire  fence  been  where  it  was.  So  Mr. 
Hugh  lets  her  sell  little  things  she  knits  to  the 
picnic  people  who  go  to  the  Inn  for  tea,  and  he 
will  see  that  she  only  pays  for  worthy  dogs." 

Mr.  Hugh  expected  to  hear  Miss  Letty's  ring 
ing  laugh,  but  he  didn't. 

"  Oh,  I  hope  I  shall  be  able  to  make  a  great 
many  albums,"  said  Anne,  stretching  wide  her 
arms  to  express  size,  as  she  used  to,  when,  as  a 
little  girl,  she  opened  her  arms  to  the  sky  and 
said  she  wished  she  could  hug  all  outdoors. 

"  I'm  sorry  Lily's  dead.  I'd  have  let  you  take 
her  and  me  together,  and  you  could  have  charged 
a  lot,"  said  Tommy,  innocently;  and  then  added 
at  random,  in  the  polite  silence  that  followed, 
"  Say,  Miss  Letty,  4  if  you  loved  anything,  would 


THE   SIXLETS  329 

you  care  if  it  looked  ugly  or  like  a  jumping-jack 
in  a  picture  ?  " 

"  Why,  of  course  not,"  said  Miss  Letty,  inno 
cently,  not  looking  in  Mr.  Hugh's  direction,  which 
was  well,  as  she  might  have  guessed,  for  he  was 
as  red  as  a  beet,  being  the  only  one  who  under 
stood  at  what  Tommy  was  driving. 

Miss  Jule,  scenting  something,  suggested  that 
they  go  out  and  present  the  pups  with  the 
collars  that  Mr.  Hugh  had  bought  for  them  but 
had  seemingly  forgotten.  This  pulled  him  to 
gether  again,  and  he  handed  Anne  a  parcel  con 
taining  six  dainty  chamois-lined  collars.  Three 
were  red  for  the  girls,  and  three  blue  for  the  boys, 
and  each  was  ornamented  with  a  pair  of  small 
round  nickel  bells. 

"  How  lovely  of  you  !  "  said  Anne,  going  up  to 
give  him  a  frank  kiss  of  thanks,  a  hand  on  each 
shoulder. 

"  They'll  keep  the  dogs  from  straying  away  and 
getting  lost.  I  always  put  bells  on  my  hounds' 
first  collars,"  he  said,  quite  at  his  ease  again. 

"  By  the  way,"  he  added,  stooping,  "  what  are 
those  letters  printed  on  the  dish  the  pups  are 
feeding  from  ?  " 

"  4  Drink,  Puppy,  Drink.'  They  come  made  that 
way  ;  and  I  think  the  pups  understand,  for  they 


330 


DOGTOWN 


do  it  all  day  long,"  and  this  time  Mr.  Hugh  joined 
in  the  laugh. 

That  evening  when  Anne  went  to  put  away  the 
dog  pictures,  much  to  her  vexation  she  could  not 
find  the  one  of  Miss  Letty  feeding  the  kennel 
dogs,  and  she  so  wanted  to  give  it  to  Mr.  Hugh. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

BEN   UNCAS'S   LAST   HUNT 

ONE  Saturday  Anne  discovered  that  Waddles 
was  very  low  in  his  mind.  It  was  after  a  week 
when  she  had  been  busy  at  school,  and  had 
devoted  her  afternoons  and  evenings  to  taking 
and  developing  more  or  less  successful  dog  pic 
tures,  to  make  the  albums  in  aid  of  Mrs.  Carr's 
"  fund,"  so  that  she  had  paid  less  attention  than 
usual  to  the  house  fourfoots. 

At  first  Anne  thought  that  Waddles  felt  neg 
lected,  and  was  a  bit  sulky ;  but  as  petting  did 
not  mend  matters,  she  looked  about  for  some 
other  cause.  It  could  not  be  that  the  sixlets 
bothered  him,  for  they  now  lived  in  separate 
quarters,  and  had  a  garden  to  themselves  ;  and 
Mr.  Hugh  had  secured  Tiger  Lily,  Dinah,  and 
Bobwhite  to  add  to  the  beagle  pack  he  was  form 
ing,  when  they  should  be  old  enough,  much  to 
the  relief  of  Anne's  parents ;  for  the  prospect  of 
six  puppies  cutting  their  second  teeth  upon  any 

331 


332  DOGTOWN 

and  everything  they  could  seize  was  certainly 
rather  appalling. 

Fortunately,  neither  Anne  nor  Tommy  objected 
to  halving  the  pups  with  Mr.  Hugh,  for  they 
could  visit  them  at  any  time,  and  though  his 
dogs  were  obliged  to  obey,  and  to  be  very  tidy 
and  good,  they  were  allowed  to  spend  their  even 
ings  lying  in  rows  by  the  enormous  fireplace  in 
the  hall,  and  always  sat  in  a  group  about  his  chair 
when  he  dined  or  breakfasted  alone. 

Happy,  having  weaned  the  pups,  had  seemingly 
given  them  entirely  into  the  guardianship  of  Jack 
Waddles,  who  was  so  watchful  and  motherly  in 
his  care  of  them  that  Miss  Letty  said  his  name 
should  be  changed  to  Jane,  and  that  he  should 
wear  a  nurse's  cap  and  apron.  But  Anne,  who 
understood  him,  loved  him  for  his  gentleness,  and 
was  glad  to  have  one  stay-at-home  dog,  that, 
though  he  knew  and  liked  the  hunting  in  a  way, 
did  not  run  himself  to  a  skeleton  over  it,  for  the 
cool  weather  had  set  in,  and  Happy's  voice  could 
be  heard  far  and  wide,  telling  of  her  running  abil 
ity;  while  upon  more  than  one  occasion  she  stayed 
out  so  late  at  night  that  she  did  not  have  to  get  up 
for  breakfast. 

Strange  to  say,  Waddles  suddenly  stopped  hunt 
ing  with  her  ;  of  course  he  was  an  old  dog  now, 


BEN   UNCAS'S   LAST   HUNT  333 

but  why  he  should  run  one  week  and  then  stop 
puzzled  Anne.  She  felt  his  nose ;  it  was  moist 
and  cool.  She  examined  his  paws  ;  there  were 
neither  cuts  or  thorns  visible.  His  coat  was  well- 
kept  and  flexible,  —  a  rough,  brittle  coat  tells  its 
own  tale  of  illness  both  in  dogs  and  horses,  — 
likewise,  his  eyes  were  bright,  yet  he  ate  but 
little,  and  lay  all  day  silently  guarding  a  large 
accumulation  of  ungnawed  bones. 

"  Miss  Jule  says  4  if  a  horse  seems  all  right,  yet 
doesn't  eat,  look  at  his  teeth.'  Perhaps  it  may  be 
the  same  with  dogs  ;  anyway,  I  will  look,"  said 
Anne  to  herself. 

At  the  first  attempt  Waddles  resisted  and 
growled  a  little ;  then  he  changed  his  mind. 
Sure  enough,  the  tooth  back  of  the  right  canine 
was  not  only  broken,  but  quite  loose,  and  the 
gum  red  and  swollen. 

"  You  poor  Waddlekins !  Of  course  you  can't 
chew  without  getting  a  dreadful  pain !  Baldy 
shall  pull  the  old  thing  out,  and  it  will  all  be 
over  in  a  minute,"  said  Anne,  soothingly.  Wad 
dles  sat  perfectly  still,  looking  out  of  the  side  of 
his  eyes  at  his  mistress.  He  suspected  something, 
and  yet  he  had  no  experience  in  tooth-drawing  to 
give  him  a  hint  of  what  was  coming. 

Anne  first  found  Baldy,  then  going  to  her  father 


334  DOGTOWN 

borrowed  a  little  pair  of  pincers  that  he  had  kept 
in  a  drawer  by  his  desk,  ever  since  they  had 
done  duty  on  her  easy  first  teeth,  and  would  soon 
do  the  same  for  Tommy.  Then  she  called 
Waddles  to  come  to  the  garden  where  Baldy 
was  working.  After  thinking  for  a  few  minutes, 
he  obeyed,  walking  very  slowly  on  tiptoe,  his 
gait  when  either  suspicious  or  reluctant.  When 
Baldy  tried  to  hold  him  firmly  between  his 
knees,  Waddles  instantly  freed  himself  from 
collar  and  all,  with  the  single  backward  jerk 
of  the  head  for  which  he  was  celebrated;  but 
the  next  moment  seated  himself  quietly  by  Anne, 
and  without  being  held,  allowed  Baldy  to  pull  out 
the  tooth. 

An  expression  of  surprise,  quickly  followed  by 
one  of  relief,  crossed  his  mobile  face.  He  choked 
and  coughed  a  little,  then  straightway  under 
stood  the  whole  affair,  took  a  drink  from  the 
birds'  bath-tub  under  the  big  syringa  bush,  and 
walking  straight  back  to  what  Tommy  called 
"  Waddles's  bone-garden "  unearthed  a  particu 
larly  ripe  and  delicious  beef  rib  and  began  to  gnaw 
it  with  relish,  his  tooth  and  low  spirits  having 
disappeared  together. 

The  next  day  Waddles  had  a  long  call  from 
Mr.  Wolf,  Miss  Jule's  old  St.  Bernard,  and  after 


BEN   UNCAS'S   LAST   HUNT 


335 


the  usual  pleasant  exchange  of  sniffs  and  other 
greetings  the  two  adjourned  to  the  south  side 
of  the  orchard  wall,  which,  topping  a  slope,  com 
manded  a  wide  stretch  of  country.  Here,  lying 
back  to  back  so  that  eye,  ear,  and  nose  might 
have  as  wide  a  range  as  possible,  they  proceeded 
to  "  watch  out "  for  game. 


Mr.  Wolf,  otherwise  known  as  Ben  Uncas,  and 
Waddles  were  the  leading  members  of  a  curious 
sort  of  club  that  hunted  fur,  and,  as  a  usual  thing, 
let  feathers  severely  alone.  This  club  now  num 
bered  six  members  of  various  sizes  and  breeds,  and 
when  the  queeiiy  assorted  pack  started  off  for  a 
day  or  night  outing,  the  House  People  of  Dog- 
town,  hearing  the  babel  of  cries,  said,  "  Ben  Uncas 
&  Co.  are  on  the  war-path  !  " 


336  DOGTOWN 

Until  this  particular  season  the  club  had  con 
sisted  of  the  St.  Bernard,  its  leader,  Waddles, 
Colin,  Tip,  and  Quick ;  now  Hamlet  had  been  in 
itiated,  and  was  one  of  the  most  daring  members, 
especially  in  the  matter  of  sometimes  swimming 
down  even  the  web-footed  muskrats,  who  sought 
safety  by  taking  to  the  water. 

The  animals  that  the  club  hunted  ranged 
in  size  from  meadow-mice,  moles,  chipmunks, 
muskrats,  rabbits,  skunks,  wookchucks,  foxes, 
coons,  and  occasionally  a  rare  and  wily  opos 
sum,  while  these  native  animals  were  liberally 
punctuated  by  an  assortment  of  cats.  Now  this 
matter  of  cat  hunting  by  Ben  Uncas  &  Co.  has 
a  very  dreadful  sound,  and  requires  a  word  of 
explanation. 

It  had  its  origin  in  what  some  shiftless  sort 
of  House  People  called  "  their  tender  feelings " 
in  this  way.  Any  number  of  people  living  in 
the  farms  and  on  the  country  edge  of  the  village 
kept  cats  which  they  fed  and  housed  after  a 
fashion,  but  when  kittens  were  born,  instead  of 
humanely  destroying  those  for  which  they  could 
not  care,  they  simply  shifted  the  responsibility  to 
the  poor  kittens,  allowing  them  to  grow  up  as 
best  they  might  and  provide  for  themselves. 

Those  that  did  not  starve  to  death  soon  formed 


BEN   UNCAS'S   LAST   HUNT  337 

a  roving  band  of  feline  bandits  of  every  age,  sex, 
and  colour,  that  haunted  deserted  barns,  remote 
haymows,  and  even  hollow  trees  in  the  deep 
woods,  living  by  preying  upon  song  and  game 
birds,  rabbits,  and  barnyard  fowls. 

Waddles's  fierce  old  enemy,  Tiger,  the  miller's 
cat,  had  been  adopted  from  this  race,  and  so  con 
stantly  had  Waddles,  as  well  as  Mr.  Wolf  and  the 
smaller  dogs,  heard  the  cry  of  "  cats !  "  and  been 
called  to  hunt  the  enemy  from  a  chicken  coop  or 
an  orchard  full  of  nestlings,  that  they  regarded 
wildcats  as  lawful  hunting. 

One  thing,  however,  was  a  proof  of  the  wonder 
ful  intelligence  of  the  hunters ;  they  knew  per 
fectly  well  the  difference  between  the  pet  cats  of 
the  neighbourhood  and  the  wild  tribe,  and  if,  as 
happened  but  very  rarely,  in  the  heat  of  the  run 
they  made  a  mistake,  after  one  experience  and  its 
punishment  they  never  again  bore  the  victim 
home  as  a  trophy,  as  they  would  a  woodchuck, 
muskrat,  or  weasel,  but  hid  it  carefully  in  bushes 
or  tall  grass,  and  pretended  that  the  chase  was  a 
failure.  But  when  the  kill  was  satisfactory,  no 
matter  who  was  the  catcher,  Mr.  Wolf  always 
took  it  home  to  Miss  Jule,  who  rewarded  the 
hunters  with  petting  and  a  plate  of  tidbits. 

Their  hunting  methods  were  also   peculiar   to 


338 


DOGTOWN 


themselves,  and  the  labours  were  divided  quite 
equally  among  the  six. 

Waddles  and  Tip,  the  little  spaniel,  had  the 
keenest  noses  and  the  best  minds  for  planning 
strategy.  Quick,  the  fox  terrier,  who  was  all  that 
his  name  implied,  added  to  the  endurance  and 
bound  of  a  collection  of  steel  springs,  was  the 
explorer  of  small  holes  and  the  pioneer  of  attacks 
upon  burrows  that  must  be  dug  out  or  chinks 
between  rocks  that  must  be  explored. 

It  was  Quick,  also,  who  spurred  the  flagging 
energy  of  the  larger  dogs  in  tiresome  runs, 
though  often  to  their  hurt,  as  will  be  seen,  and 
had  generally  managed  to  lead  his  friends  into 
the  few  misdeeds  of  which  they  were  guilty. 


BEN  UNCAS'S   LAST   HUNT 

Though  Mr.  Wolf  appeared  to  be  the  leader 
because  of  his  size  and  heavy  weight,  he  was 
really  quite  subject  to  Quick's  commands,  and 
the  most  confiding  and  intimate  relations  existed 
between  the  pair.  They  shared  both  bed  and 
board,  and  it  was  a  study  in  dog  love  to  see  the 
expression  of  impertinence  that  Quick  usually  wore 
change  to  one  of  complete  adoration  as  he  gazed 
up  in  the  face  of  his  big  friend,  standing  on  tiptoe 
to  lick  his  nose. 

As  to  Colin,  the  big,  blundering  red  setter,  with 
the  beautiful  eyes  and  the  silky  hair,  his  use  was 
as  general  encourager  when  the  hunt  flagged  ;  for 
though  in  the  course  of  a  long  life,  and  he  lived 
into  his  fifteenth  year,  he  never  caught  anything 
wilder  than  a  frightened  chicken  or  disabled 
rabbit,  yet  he  was  never  discouraged,  starting  off 
each  day  with  the  joy  of  first  experience,  and  if 
the  party  caught  nothing,  he  would  retrieve  a  stick 
of  decayed  wood,  a  bit  of  old  leather,  or  even  a 
spruce  cone  and  carry  it  to  Miss  Jule  on  his  own 
account. 

Upon  one  occasion,  being  left  in  the  rear  by 
the  others,  he  came  upon  a  wood-duck  that  had 
lain  dead  for  some  time  in  the  pond  meadow. 
After  rolling  on  it  very  thoroughly  in  the  manner 
of  dogs  and  wolves,  to  identify  themselves  with 


340  DOGTOWN 

their  finds  in  the  noses  of  other  dogs,  he  suc 
ceeded,  after  much  difficulty,  in  bearing  it  home 
and  into  the  dining  room  during  a  company  tea, 
where  he  laid  it  at  Miss  Jule's  feet.  He  had  such 
an  expression  of  bringing  a  gift  worth  having 
upon  his  face,  that  also  wore  a  broad  grin,  that 
no  one,  even  among  the  guests,  had  the  heart  to 
scold  him,  but  politely  held  their  breaths  and  noses 
while  Miss  Jule  called  Colin  "  a  good  fellow,"  and 
escorted  him  out,  accompanied  by  the  duck  in  a 
dust-pan.  She  also  allowed  him  the  crowning  joy 
of  burying  it,  which  he  did  as  a  matter  of  course, 
instead  of  casting  it  ignobly  on  the  refuse  heap, 
which  would  have  not  only  hurt  his  feelings,  but 
have  given  him  the  extra  trouble  of  retrieving 
it  a  second  time,  and  so  prolonged  the  odour. 

When  Ben  Uncas  &  Co.  hunted  ground  beasts 
their  methods  were  wholly  different  from  their 
pursuit  of  tree  climbers.  Of  ground  beasts  the 
woodchuck  and  muskrat  seemed  the  most  interest 
ing  quarry,  and  of  climbers  the  breed  of  vagrant 
wildcats  and  the  coons  of  Pine  Ridge  were  the 
favourites.  The  native  tailless  bob-cat  or  red  lynx 
was  now  so  rare  as  to  be,  like  the  rattlesnake, 
almost  a  hearsay  beast  of  imagination,  seen  only 
by  the  people  who,  carrying  brown  jugs,  took  a 
short  cut  through  the  Den  woods  on  their  way 


BEN   UNCAS'S   LAST   HUNT  341 

home  from  the  cider-mill,  and  paused  to  rest  on 
the  way. 

There  were  many  old  fields  and  orchards  be 
tween  Happy  Hall  and  the  Hilltop  Kennels,  and 
when  Ben  Uncas  &  Co.  organized  for  hunting, 
three  years  before  this  time,  there  was  barely  a 
five-acre  lot  without  its  woodchuck  famity,  while 
Waddles's  old  bugaboo,  the  skunk,  called  scent  cat 
by  its  comrades  through  fearsome  politeness,  in 
habited  stone  fences  and  tumble-down  cellars  at 
will.  In  fact,  one  pair  were  so  bold  as  to  raise  a 
litter  under  the  henhouse  at  Pinkie  Scott's,  in  order 
to  be  conveniently  near  a  poultry  and  egg  market, 
while  Pinkie  petted  and  fed  the  little  things,  mis 
taking  them  for  queer  black  and  white  kittens, 
until  one  evening,  when  Hans  Sachs  was  with  her, 
their  mother  came  back  and  objected.  Then  Pink 
ie's  illusion  and  the  skunk  family  were  dispelled 
together. 

Of  course  people  trapped  skunks,  and  they  were 
more  or  less  hunted  by  other  dogs,  but  to  the 
method  of  Ben  Uncas  &  Co.  belonged  the  honour 
of  having  freed  the  entire  hillside  of  the  pests, 
even  though  as  individuals  they  had  often  been 
obliged  to  retire  to  private  life  in  consequence. 

Anne  and  Tommy  had  never  been  able  to  fol 
low  a  skunk  hunt  closely  enough  to  see  exactly 


342  DOGTOWN 

how  it  began,  but  one  thing  was  certain,  it  was 
always  Quick  who,  jumping  upon  the  animal's 
back,  gave  the  sudden  shake  to  the  neck  that 
settled  the  question  just  as  he  did  with  a  rat,  at 
the  same  time  taking  extra  care  not  to  be  bitten ; 
for  to  be  bitten  by  a  skunk  is  one  of  the  "  mustn't 
be's  "  of  dog  law,  and  a  calamity  they  are  careful 
to  avoid,  while  they  are  quite  reckless  about  the 
more  powerful  chisel  teeth  of  both  woodchuck 
and  muskrat. 

The  woodchucks  were  less  easily  exterminated 
even  though  they  are  more  abroad  by  day,  for  not 
only  are  their  homes  more  difficult  to  reach,  but 
when  living  in  a  colony  they  usually  post  sentinels 
at  the  entrances  of  their  burrows.  Several  times, 
when  the  settlements  in  the  old  fields  and  orchards 
had  been  scattered,  new  families  from  other  places 
seemed  to  move  into  the  empty  burrows.  Then 
again  woodchucks  hole  up  in  middle  autumn  and 
stay  wholly  out  of  reach  until  spring,  so  they  are 
never  driven  to  take  the  risks  during  the  hard 
winter  months  that  drive  so  many  of  the  wood 
fourfoots  recklessly  into  the  open  for  food. 

A  wily  old  woodchuck  is  a  hard  animal  to 
chase,  clumsy  though  it  is,  it  knows  so  many 
twists  and  turns  and  paths  back  to  its  burrow.  It 
is  a  still  harder  one  for  a  small  dog  to  kill,  owing 


BEN  UNCAS'S  LAST   HUNT  343 

to  the  toughness  of  its  skin,  the  layer  of  fat  that 
covers  its  vital  parts  at  most  seasons,  and  the 
ferocity  of  its  attack  when  at  bay  and  thoroughly 
aroused,  its  nose  being  really  its  most  vulnerable 
spot. 

The  tactics  of  Ben  Uncas  &  Co.  were  these,  — 
when  the  party  started  out  at  random  the  condi 
tions  of  the  day  for  sport  were  usually  left  for 
Waddles  and  Tip  to  decide,  as  they  had  the  most 
discriminating  noses  of  the  lot.  Mr.  Wolf  knew 
the  scent  of  wild  beasts  on  general  principles,  and 
Quick  had  cat  on  the  brain  to  such  an  extent  that 
if  a  trail  ran  anywhere  near  a  tree  he  would  jump 
at  conclusions,  and  so  often  went  astray. 

A  woodchuck  chase  belongs  chiefly  to  still  hunt 
ing,  and  requires  waiting  ability.  After  the  dogs 
agreed  together  that  the  scent  said,  for  instance, 
that  in  the  upper  orchard,  where  there  was  but  a 
single  family,  the  old  folks  were  out  foraging, 
they  divided,  Mr.  Wolf  and  Quick  following  the 
trail  of  the  elders,  in  a  silent,  leisurely  way,  while 
Waddles,  Tip,  and,  during  the  last  few  months, 
Hamlet,  would  sit  motionless  and  wait  well  back 
of  the  burrow  openings,  Waddles  generally  choos 
ing  the  main  entrance,  while  Colin  roved  about 
afield,  sniffing  here  and  there,  chasing  grasshoppers 
and  playing  the  part  of  unconcerned  idler  to  per- 


344 


DOGTOWN 


Colin. 

fection,  because  that  was  what  he  really  was.  To 
Colin  the  hunting  meant  play,  but  to  the  others 
it  was  as  serious  a  business  as  if  their  food  de 
pended  on  it;  hence  it  will  be  seen  that  they 
were  true  sportsmen. 

If  things  combined  rightly,  after  a  time  the 
more  or  less  young  cubs  of  the  year  in  the  bur 
row  would  wake  from  their  nap,  and  after  the 
manner  of  young  things,  finding  their  parents 
absent,  would  set  about  to  explore,  one  by  one 
cautious  heads  appearing  above  ground.  Wood- 
chucks  are  very  clever  about  making  the  entrances 
to  their  homes.  They  are  seldom  in  perfectly 


BEN  UNO  AS' S  LAST  HUNT  345 

level  ground,  but  are  protected  on  one  side  by  a 
hillock,  old  corn  hill,  stone  heap,  or ,  at  least  by 
the  mound  of  earth  thrown  from  the  burrow  itself, 
so  that  when  the  animal  peers  out  it  cannot  at 
once  be  seen  from  the  rear. 

No  sooner  did  the  young  woodchucks  get 
their  heads  fairly  above  ground,  than,  spying 
Colin  skirting  the  field  in  his  gambols,  their  at 
tention  was  riveted  and  their  curiosity  aroused, 
for  with  these,  as  with  many  wild  things,  it  is 
difficult  to  say  which  is  the  stronger  instinct, 
caution  or  curiosity.  In  a  moment  more  two, 
three,  or  oftentimes  four  young  woodchucks 
would  be  seen  seated  sometimes  a  foot  away 
from  the  hole,  all  backed  toward  it  as  for 
protection,  their  eyes  fastened  upon  the  distant 
dog. 

Often  at  this  critical  moment  the  old  ones, 
sniffing  danger  in  the  wind,  would  start  to  return, 
only  to  be  met  by  Mr.  Wolf  and  Quick  waiting 
in  some  likely  nook,  who,  though  they  could  not 
altogether  conquer  the  experienced  pair,  would 
manage  to  hold  them  at  bay  and  make  them  very 
late  in  getting  home. 

Meanwhile  Waddles  waited  at  his  post,  alert, 
one  paw  raised  like  his  attitude  before  the  spring 
and  rapid  digging  in  mole  hunting.  As  soon 


346  DOGTOWN 

as  the  cubs  were  well  clear  of  the  burrow,  he 
pounced  upon  the  bunch,  trying  to  land  be 
tween  them  and  the  opening,  giving  a  call  to  his 
comrades  that  evidently  told  them  what  to  do, 
for  sometimes  they  came  tumbling  up,  and  a  gen 
eral  scrimmage  ensued  at  close  quarters,  and 
at  others  the  bunch  would  scatter  over  the  field, 
followed  by  Waddles,  while  the  other  dogs  did 
not  come  to  the  attack  until  the  woodchucks 
had  doubled  and  were  on  the  home  stretch.  In 
such  cases  the  results  were  usually  two  victims, 
one  of  which  was  generally  either  buried  for 
future  use  or  left  on  the  field  for  a  second  trip, 
while  the  other  was  borne  proudly  home  intact 
by  Mr.  Wolf,  with  head  held  high  and  important, 
ambling  gate.  In  fact,  no  less  strong  a  dog  could 
carry  even  a  two-months-old  woodchuck,  some 
times  a  full  mile  over  stone  fences  and  other 
obstruction,  without  at  least  partly  dragging  it 
along  the  ground. 

After  the  kill  Tip,  Hamlet,  and  Colin  often  lost 
interest  and  skirmished  about  on  their  own  ac 
count  for  a  while  before  returning ;  but  Waddles 
and  Quick  invariably  followed  Mr.  Wolf,  and 
shared  Miss  Jule's  praise,  and  the  plate  of  tid 
bits  that  were  a  part  of  it. 


The  Reward. 


BEN  UNCAS'S  LAST  HUNT        349 

When,  however,  a  tree  animal  was  scented,  the 
hunt  was  both  noisy  and  rapid.  Either  Waddles 
or  Quick  would  pick  up  the  trail  of  one  of  the 
bandit  cats,  and  give  tongue  according  to  their 
vocal  abilities,  Quick's  being  a  most  piercing 
and  unearthly  scream.  Then  the  oddly  assorted 
pack  would  start  off,  noses  to  the  ground,  bark 
ing,  baying,  yelping  as  if  Dogtown  itself  was 
hunting  the  great  phantom  cat  of  whom  all 
naughty  puppies  live  in  dread,  whose  grin  is 
sometimes  seen  on  the  full  moon  on  foggy  nights, 
and  whose  trail  always  either  leads  to  water  or 
rises  in  the  air. 

If  the  cat  thus  pursued  should  happen  to  be  at 
rest  when  the  trail  is  discovered,  it  is  soon  on  foot 
again,  spurred  by  the  approaching  noise.  If  in 
the  open,  it  makes  for  the  nearest  trees ;  for  cats 
are  poor  long  distance  runners,  their  specialties 
being  leaping  and  climbing. 

A  cat  of  experience  and  steady  nerve,  having 
gained  a  medium -sized  tree,  will  retreat  to  the 
upper  branches,  secure  a  good  perch,  and  there 
sit  and  wait  indefinitely  without  looking  down,  for 
the  cat  who  looks  down  upon  a  pack  of  jumping, 
yelping  dogs  is  lost,  being  either  confused  into 
letting  go  her  grip  and  dropping,  or  else  startled 
into  jumping  squirrel-like  for  the  branches  of  an 


350  DOGTOWN 

adjoining  tree  which  may  bend  to  the  earth  with 
her  weight. 

If  the  cat,  when  treed,  does  neither  of  these 
things,  then  the  hunters  divide  forces  and  pre 
pare  to  wait.  Mr.  Wolf,  seating  himself  a  few 
feet  from  the  tree,  where  he  can  see  well  up  into 
the  branches  (for  in  tree  work  sight  supplements 
scent  in  a  great  degree)  begins  a  monotonous  and 
incessant  barking.  Quick  going  backward  a 
couple  of  yards  makes  rapid  runs  at  the  tree- 
trunk,  managing  to  scramble  up  six  or  eight  feet 
before  dropping  back,  or  sometimes,  if  the  branches 
are  thick  and  low,  landing  securely  upon  one  of 
them.  Tip  and  Hamlet  wait  at  a  little  distance 
in  case  the  cat  tries  a  long  leap  and  run,  while 
Waddles  turns  strategist  and  disappears,  that  is, 
as  far  as  the  cat  is  concerned.  Really  he  is  crouch 
ing  close  against  the  tree-trunk  directly  under  the 
cat's  perch,  silent,  with  glistening  eyes,  and,  in 
spite  of  rheumatism,  all  his  catapult  force  gathered 
in  the  muscles  of  his  back  like  a  bent  bow,  for  in 
every  chase  Waddles  lives  over  his  youth  and  his 
feud  with  the  miller's  cat. 

On  goes  Mr.  Wolfs  hypnotic  chanting,  echoed 
occasionally  by  Tip  or  carried  into  a  banshee 
scream  by  Hamlet,  who  finds  time  hanging  heavy 
to  his  impatient  feet.  At  last  the  cat  looks  down, 


BEN   UNCAS'S   LAST   HUNT  351 

hesitates  whether  to  climb  higher  or  risk  a  long 
jump;  confused  by  the  noise,  it  does  half  of  each, 
and  as  a  result  drops  directly  at  the  root  of  the 
tree.  Waddles's  back  straightens,  —  there  is  one 
bandit  cat  the  less.  Then  the  good  news  is  passed 
quickly  on  by  the  gossips  of  Birdland,  all  a-twitter 
in  the  neighbouring  trees. 


Such  hunting  was  wearing  to  a  heavy  dog  past 
middle  age  like  Mr.  Wolf,  and  after  each  run 
that  season  he  rested  longer,  and  felt  less  appe 
tite  for  his  good  dinner  and  go-to-bed  bone. 

In  dog  friendships,  like  those  of  people,  there 
should  be  a  certain  amount  of  physical  as  well  as 
mental  equality,  or  one  will  lead  the  other  beyond 
his  strength,  and  this  is  what  Quick  did  to  his 
dear  friends,  as  both  Mr.  Wolf  and  Waddles  would 
often  have  continued  to  doze  under  the  stone 
wall,  and  let  certain  signs  of  game  pass  unnoticed 
if  Quick  had  not  literally  burrowed  them  out  and 
nagged  them  into  action,  saying,  both  Miss  Jule 
and  Anne  suspected,  many  taunting  things  that  no 
old  dog  likes  to  hear  from  his  juniors. 

Miss  Jule  noticed  that  Mr.  Wolf  was  growing 
rather  thin,  and  she  tried  to  keep  him  more  with 
her,  coaxing  him  to  lie  in  the  hall  of  afternoons, 


352  DOGTOWN 

or  by  her  desk,  as  he  used  to  even  in  his  youth, 
before  Quick  had  come  to  win  his  friendship  and 
urge  him  to  the  hunting  for  which  he  was  not 
intended.  But  the  nervous,  tireless  fox  terrier 
was  so  persistent,  crawling  and  fawning  before 
the  St.  Bernard,  or  even  pawing  him  awake  when 
he  slept,  that  the  poor  old  fellow  had  little  peace. 
Finally  Miss  Jule  resolved  to  give  Quick  to 
some  children  living  away  in  another  county, 
who  wanted  exactly  such  an  active  pet,  but,  as  it 
chanced,  she  had  put  it  off  over  long. 

Early  in  October  a  heavy  rain  flooded  the  low, 
river  meadows,  and  turned  the  muskrat  hunting- 
grounds  of  Ben  Uncas  and  Co.,  that  before  had 
been  merely  wet  here  and  there,  into  a  wide  pool, 
where  the  dogs  shorter  of  leg  than  Mr.  Wolf  and 
Colin  were  obliged  to  paddle  along.  There  were 
already  one  or  two  of  the  muskrats'  winter  homes 
in  these  meadows.  These  huts  looked  like  low 
stacks  of  coarse  hay  and  reeds,  and  the  odour  of 
the  builders  was  sufficient  to  provoke  the  dogs 
to  attack  them,  even  though  the  entrances  ran 
under  ground  for  some  way  before  opening  under 
water  in  the  river  bank,  something  after  the 
manner  of  beaver  runs,  though  the  beaver's  house 
is  in  the  water  itself,  not  on  partly  submerged 
meadow  land.  Because  the  muskrat  is  a  poor 


Ben  Uncas. 


BEN  UNCAS'S   LAST   HUNT  355 

runner,  it  trusts  itself  on  dry  land  as  little  as 
possible,  and  the  dogs  hunted  it  either  by  digging 
it  from  its  burrows,  the  only  way  in  which  they 
had  real  success,  or  by  swimming  after  it.  This 
last  might  do  well  enough  as  sport  for  water  dogs 
on  summer  evenings,  but  it  was  poor  work  for 
elderly  Mr.  Wolf  and  Colin,  with  the  autumn 
chill  in  the  air.  As  for  Waddles,  he  was  wise  in 
his  own  generation,  and  would  no  longer  even 
cross  a  brook  where  he  was  obliged  to  wet  more 
than  the  tips  of  his  toes,  and  even  did  that  with  a 
very  staccato  tread.  So  when  the  others  spent 
afternoons  splashing  about  the  muskrats'  huts,  he, 
dry  and  comfortable,  merely  sat  upon  a  low  bridge 
close  by,  talked  to  himself,  and  occasionally  bayed 
advice.  But  then,  Waddles  was  a  genius  I 

Miss  Jule  was  away  the  first  day  of  this  unwise 
hunting.  When  she  came  home  she  found  Mr. 
Wolf  more  tired  still,  and  she  was  fairly  shocked 
to  see  how  lean  his  body  was,  now  that  the  thick, 
long  hair  that  had  given  it  bulk  was  pasted  close 
by  mud  and  water. 

She  had  him  carefully  dried  by  the  kitchen 
fire,  well  brushed  out,  fed  him  herself  with  warm 
stew,  and  put  him  to  bed  in  a  box  stall  deep  with 
straw  covered  with  a  horse  blanket  for  a  bed, 
thinking  to  keep  him  prisoner  a  few  days  for  his 


356  DOGTOWN 

own  good  and  give  him  the  necessary  exercise 
herself. 

The  next  day  was  bright  and  warm  for  the 
season,  and  Miss  Jule  thought  that  a  sun  bath  on 
the  south  piazza  would  do  Ben  worlds  of  good. 
When  she  went  for  him  he  whined  with  joy, 
licked  her  hands,  and  looked  into  her  face  with 
old-time  fervour  ;  but  when  they  started  together 
toward  the  house,  he  lagged  behind,  took  a  few 
steps,  lay  down,  then  struggled  to  his  feet  and 
seemed  to  force  himself  to  cover  the  distance,  sink 
ing  down  on  the  mat  his  mistress  placed  in  the 
porch  corner  with  a  sigh,  and  closed  his  eyes.  Miss 
Jule  plainly  saw  that  Ben  Uncas  was  very  ill,  and 
wishing  to  take  no  risks,  she  telephoned  for  a  skilled 
veterinarian  from  the  town  half  a  dozen  miles  away. 
In  another  hour  the  quick  trot  of  his  horses'  hoofs 
sounded  on  the  drive.  A  good  veterinary  surgeon 
who  loves  his  work,  always  comes  quickly,  for  he 
knows  the  sorrow  of  helplessly  watching  the  pain 
of  an  animal  who  cannot  put  his  needs  into  the 
words  House  People  can  understand. 

He  took  temperature  and  pulse,  felt  here  and 
listened  there,  and  said  poor  Ben  had  distemper 
from  wasted  strength  and  drinking  ditch  water 
when  on  the  run.  He  said  Mr.  Wolf  was  very 
ill,  but  not,  he  thought,  past  help.  He  must  go 


BEN   UNCAS'S   LAST   HUNT  357 

back  to  the  box  stall  where  he  could  have  both 
air  and  shelter,  and  leaving  medicine  to  be  faith 
fully  given,  he  went  away,  promising  to  come 
again  at  night. 

For  a  time  Ben  seemed  brighter  and  walked 
back  to  the  stable  without  resting  on  the  way, 
took  a  long  drink  of  water,  swallowed  his  medi 
cine  without  a  struggle,  and  fell  into  a  doze. 

In  the  afternoon  he  waked,  tried  to  drink  the 
soup  Miss  Jule  brought  him,  and  could  not, 
neither  could  he  swallow  water,  though  he  grate 
fully  licked  a  bit  of  ice  his  mistress  gave  him. 
Then  when  pain  seized  him  and  his  sunken  eyes 
told  of  suffering,  she  put  hot  cloths  upon  his 
stomach  and  gently  rubbed  his  head  which  laid 
in  her  lap. 

The  surgeon  came  at  evening,  looked  sober, 
but  said  to  keep  on  with  the  medicine,  and  that 
Ben  would  probably  improve  the  next  morning. 

That  night  the  horses  in  the  stable  saw  an  odd 
sight  —  fat,  middle-aged  Miss  Jule,  buttoned  to  the 
chin  in  an  old  ulster  with  a  crimson  wool  Tarn  O' 
Shanter  cap  of  Letty's  fastened  on  askew,  was 
sitting  on  an  upturned  pail  in  the  box  stall  be 
side  her  sick  friend,  while  for  company,  Martin, 
the  reliable,  slept  on  a  heap  of  hay  in  a  distant 
corner,  wrapped  in  a  carriage  robe. 


358  DOGTOWN 

Mr.  Hugh  had  offered  to  stay  with  Ben  in  Miss 
Jule's  place  and  Letty  to  watch  with  her,  but  a 
grim  "  No "  had  been  her  answer. 

In  the  middle  of  the  night  Ben  grew  worse,  and 
in  spite  of  his  courage  he  groaned  with  pain,  and 
stretched  his  paws  to  his  mistress  as  if  for  help, 
but  could  not  otherwise  move.  She  roused  Martin 
and  sent  him  to  telephone  the  doctor,  but  the 
answer  came  that  he  was  out  and  might  not  re 
turn  until  morning. 

Miss  Jule  had  felt  from  the  first  that  Ben  was 
fatally  ill  ;  now  she  questioned  herself  as  to  how 
far  she  should  allow  him  to  suffer  under  the 
chance  that  he  might  recover  for  a  time,  and  thus 
spare  her  pain. 

More  time  passed,  again  he  stretched  out  his 
paws  and  turned  a  pitiful  look  upon  her  that 
said,  "Help  me,  mistress,  I  cannot  bear  the  pain." 

"  Yes,  old  fellow,  missy  will  help  you.  Put 
your  head  down  and  I  will  rub  it — so.  Martin, 
go  to  my  locked  closet  and  bring  me  the  bottle 
labelled  chloroform.  Yes,  that  is  right ;  now  that 
horse  sponge  there  and  the  bit  of  newspaper." 
She  took  the  bottle  with  a  hand  that  shook, 
poured  some  upon  the  sponge  that  she  had  thrust 
in  a  cone  made  of  twisted  paper.  Then  she  raised 
the  feverish  nose  resting  upon  her  knee  and  gently 


BEN  UNCAS'S   LAST   HUNT  359 

covered  it  saying  softly,  "  Good-by  my  Ben,  good- 
by  dear  Mr.  Wolf."  That  was  all. 

A  healthy  animal  often  struggles  at  the  scent 
of  chloroform,  but  to  the  very  ill  it  brings  swift 
peace.  Ben  Uncas  was  in  the  happy  hunting- 
grounds  which  were  not  far  away.  Then  brave 
Miss  Jule  broke  down  and  laid  her  head  upon  the 
tawny  one  and  sobbed  aloud.  She  was  sitting 
thus  when  the  doctor,  having  received  her  sum 
mons  on  his  tardy  return  home,  crossed  the  floor 
with  rapid  tread. 

At  first  the  doctor  said  that  she  should  have  had 
patience  and  given  the  medicine  a  longer  chance 
to  work.  But  later,  that  she  had  done  well  in 
stopping  useless  pain,  for  the  sickness  was  typhoid 
distemper,  and  nothing  could  have  saved  old  Ben. 

"  I  suppose  that  you  are  laughing  to  yourself, 
and  thinking  what  an  old  fool  I  am  to  care  so," 
said  Miss  Jule,  leaning  wearily  against  the  door 
post,  a  wild  object  with  straws  sticking  in  her  hair, 
red-eyed  and  dishevelled  in  the  dawning  light. 

"I  laugh  at  grief  for  a  dog?"  answered  the 
doctor.  "  Possibly  once  but  not  now,  or  ever  again. 
Look  at  this,"  and  opening  his  watch  he  showed 
her  the  miniature  of  a  dog  painted  on  the  inside 
cover.  It  was  the  head  of  a  finely  bred  bull 
terrier  with  soft  brown  and  white  markings,  and 


360  DOGTOWN 

a  broad  browed  face,  for  the  technical  term  muz 
zle  could  not  be  applied  to  one  having  all  the 
thoughtful  intelligence  of  a  human  being. 

"  That  is  Jim,"  said  the  doctor,  speaking  slowly, 
and  fixing  his  eyes  upon  the  picture. 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  remember  him,"  said  Miss  Jule ; 
"  he  was  rather  small  for  his  breed,  and  lame  in  his 
left  hind  leg,  but  compact  and  alert.  He  always 
used  to  ride  about  with  you,  and  when  you  went 
indoors  would  sit  and  wait  with  an  expression  of 
patience  in  his  eyes  that  seemed  to  say  that  he 
knew  just  what  you  were  about,  and  that  of  course 
he  expected  you  to  take  your  time,  do  your  work 
thoroughly,  and  not  hurry ;  but  you've  not  brought 
him  this  season,  have  you?  " 

The  doctor  shook  his  head,  still  keeping  his  eyes 
upon  the  miniature  and  continued  :  "  I  reared  Jim 
from  a  pup,  and  it  seems  as  if  there  never  was  a 
time  that  he  was  so  young  but  what  he  understood 
what  I  said  almost  before  I  spoke  the  words ;  he 
travelled  everywhere  with  me,  and  was  a  compan 
ion  for  work  as  well  as  play.  If  I  went  to  a  hotel, 
in  a  day  he  knew  at  wl^ich  floor  our  room  was, 
and  where  the  elevator  should  stop.  He  knew 
my  telephone  call,  and  would  bark  at  me  when 
the  bell  rang  it.  If  I  was  at  the  office,  he  at  home, 
I  could  call  him  to  come  to  me  if  some  one  lowered 


BEN  UNCAS'S  LAST  HUNT         363 

the  receiver  to  his  range.  He  could  carry  num 
bers  in  his  head,  too,  that  is,  as  far  as  four ;  above 
that  he  was  uncertain. 

"  One  day,  three  years  or  so  ago,  while  I  was 
waiting  at  a  railway  station  not  far  from  Boston, 
in  some  strange  way  a  train  struck  Jim  and  hurled 
him  upon  a  bank  above.  It  may  be  that  he  re 
fused  the  train  right  of  way  ;  however  it  was, 
the  crowd  that  gathered  said  he  was  done  for, 
and  should  be  put  out  of  misery.  But  bruised, 
his  leg  broken  at  the  hip,  and  maimed  though  he 
was  when  I  picked  him  up,  Jim  looked  at  me  and 
I  at  him,  and  we  agreed  to  make  a  fight  for  it. 
I  took  him  into  Boston  to  the  hospital.  We 
won;  his  leg  was  set,  and  for  a  time  it  did  well, 
and  we  went  about  in  company  once  more  ;  but 
the  fracture  join  was  brittle,  it  soon  broke 
again,  and  was  united  with  silver  wire.  For  a 
couple  of  years  he  went  about,  a  cheerful  cripple, 
—  but  at  that,  worth  all  the  other  dogs  in  Chris 
tendom  to  me,  and  seeming  to  grow  keener  witted 
as  his  body  was  more  dependent. 

"  Then  the  leg  began  to  bother  him,  and  I  tried 
every  known  expedient  short  of  amputation.  If 
I  had  done  that  in  time  he  might  have  lived 
longer,  but  I  hesitated,  and  Jim  died,  conscious 
and  knowing  me. 


364  DOGTOWtf 

"  That  was  more  than  a  year  ago,  but  I  have  not 
forgotten.  There  never  was  but  one  Jim,  and  no 
other  dog  can  be  the  same  to  me.  One  thing, 
though,  Jim  has  done  for  his  fellows, —  he  has  made 
me  think  of  and  treat  all  dogs  differently  for  his 
sake,  arid  remembering  him  and  what  he  was, 
knocking  about  as  I  do,  I'm  fast  getting  to  be 
lieve  that  dogs  are  almost  the  only  friends  one 
has  that  can  be  quite  trusted.  If  a  man  is  old 
or  young,  rich  or  poor,  a  dog  sees  no  fault  in  his 
master." 

A  man  seldom  has  the  relief  of  tears  that 
helps  a  woman,  but  instead,  sorrow  grasps  his 
throat  and  chokes  him,  and  there  were  tears 
in  the  doctor's  voice  as  he  closed  his  watch 
on  Jim's  portrait. 


"  Do  have  a  cup  of  coffee,  Miss  Jule,  dear.  You 
must  be  done  up,"  said  Anna  Maria,  who  also 
looked  awry  and  as  if  she  had  been  up  all  night, 
as  she  bustled  into  the  stable  with  coffee-pot  and 
cups  on  a  tray,  which  she  set  on  top  of  the  nearest 
feed-bin,  while  Martin  emerged  from  below,  where 
he  had  been  ducking  his  head  in  a  pail  of  water 
in  order  to  appear  fully  awake.  "  And  the  doctor 
here,  too ;  he  must  be  fain  tin',  for  he  was  the  fore 


BEN  UNCAS'S   LAST   HUNT  365 

half  of  the  night  at  the  Ridge  with  Squire  Burley's 
old  mare,  the  drivin'  boy  says,"  she  added,  hurry 
ing  back  to  the  house. 

Miss  Jule  filled  two  cups,  and  handed  one  to 
the  doctor.  Anna  Maria  had  forgotten  the  spoons, 
so  they  stirred  the  coffee  with  stout  straws. 

Miss  Jule  raised  the  cup  to  her  lips,  and  then 
paused,  saying,  "  To  the  friendship  of  two  faithful 
dogs,  Ben  Uncas  and  Jim,"  and  they  drank  the 
coffee  slowly  and  in  silence. 


Quick  was  to  have  gone  to  his  youthful  new 
owners  that  same  day,  and  Mr.  Hugh  thought 
fully  slipped  over  and  took  him  away  before  Miss 
Jule  awoke  from  her  belated  sleep,  so  that  two 
members  of  the  hunting  club  vanished  at  the 
same  time,  and  it  disbanded  as  if  by  mutual 
consent ;  for  Waddles  and  Tip  at  least  seemed 
to  comprehend  what  had  happened,  and  Colin, 
who  was  himself  growing  old,  became  more  reli 
able,  and  seldom  left  his  mistress. 

"Let's  go  up  and  hug  Miss  Jule  and  tell  her 
how  sorry  we  are,  and  lend  her  the  sixlets  for 
a  week  to  'muse  her,"  said  tender-hearted  Tommy, 
when  he  heard  the  news. 

"  Better  not,"  said  Anne,  who  understood ;  "  if 


366  DOGTOWN 

it  was  Waddles,  I  would  rather  be  let  alone." 
And  when  she,  turning  quickly,  asked  Waddles 
the  familiar  question,  "  Where  is  Ben  ?  where  is 
Mr.  Wolf?"  instead  of  cheering  and  trotting  off 
toward  the  gate  as  usual,  to  meet  his  friend,  he 
never  stirred,  but  gave  her  a  reproachful  look,  and 
throwing  back  his  head,  bayed  dismally. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE   BARBED    WIRE   FENCE 

MR.  HUGH'S  promised  field  day  with  supper  at 
Robin  Hood's  Inn  had,  for  various  reasons,  been 
postponed  so  often  that,  as  Anne  remarked,  "  first  it 
was  to  have  been  a  hazel-nut  party,  then  a  hunt  for 
hickory  and  chestnuts,  but  now  both  are  over,  so  if 
it  doesn't  happen  soon,  it  will  have  to  be  a  skating 
party,  which  won't  be  a  bit  of  fun  for  the  dogs." 

The  delay  was  nobody's  fault,  however,  for  it 
had  taken  some  time  to  clear  the  old  farm  and 
woodlots  of  briers  and  thorny  bushes,  so  that  it 
was  fit  for  people  to  explore  either  afoot  or  on 
horseback.  Then  Mr.  Hugh  had  to  go  away  to 
meet  some  other  wise  chemists  who  also  spent 
their  time,  as  Anne  once  said  of  her  friend,  "  in 
mixing  queer  things  together  that  were  of  no  use 
to  make  something  that  was,"  and  tell  them  of 
a  perfectly  new  smell  he  had  discovered. 

Next,  Tommy  had  a  bad  sore  throat,  which, 
knowing  they  usually  lasted  a  week,  he  concealed 

367 


368  DOGTOWN 

for  two  days,  though  swallowing  hurt  him  piti 
fully,  lest  he  should  be  housed  and  so  miss  the 
festivity,  and  if  Mr.  Hugh  himself  had  not  dis 
covered  the  state  of  the  case,  he  might  have  been 
very  ill  indeed. 

It  was  toward  afternoon  of  the  second  day  of 
the  discomfort  that  Mr.  Hugh,  riding  slowly  up 
the  road,  was  stopped  by  Tommy,  who  came  out 
of  the  back  gate,  looking  anxiously  behind  him, 
as  if  he  was  afraid  of  being  followed.  Mr.  Hugh 
halted  with  a  half  amused,  half  questioning  ex 
pression  on  his  face,  well  knowing  that  Tommy 
wanted  something  of  him,  and  called,  "  What's 
up,  little  chap?"  by  way  of  greeting. 

Tommy  clung  to  a  leather  stirrup  and  rested 
his  cheek  against  it,  for  his  legs  were  beginning 
to  feel  tired  to  the  bone,  which  is  one  of  the  many 
bad  things  that  a  sore  throat  does  to  people,  and 
asked  in  a  voice  that  was  so  hoarse  that  it  in 
stantly  attracted  Mr.  Hugh's  attention,  "  Please, 
if  Miss  Letty  is  hurt  or  sick  Saturday,  will  you 
have  the  riding  and  the  clay  pigeon  shoot  and  all 
the  rest  of  the  party  ?  " 

"No,  of  course  not.  Has  anything  happened 
to  her?"  asked  Mr.  Hugh,  anxiously. 

"No,"  not  yet;  but  there  may,  you  see,  'cause 
this  is  only  Tuesday." 


THE   BARBED   WIRE   FENCE  369 

"  Nonsense  ! "  ejaculated  Mr.  Hugh,  feeling 
astonished  at  the  sense  of  relief  that  came  over 
him ;  for,  without  realizing  it,  he  was  depending 
more  and  more  upon  the  companionship  of  Miss 
Jule's  pretty  niece,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  as  he 
ceased  teasing  her  and  treating  her  like  a  child, 
she  was  taking  her  revenge,  and  had  turned 
tables  by  always  laughing  at  him  and  never  seem 
ing  serious  for  a  moment. 

"If  —  if  Anne  was  sick,  would  you  wait  for 
her  ?  "  continued  Tommy,  more  slowly. 

"  Of  course  I  would." 

"  Well,  if  I  was  sick,  really,  truly  sick,  with  a 
lumpy  sore  throat,  I  suppose  —  you  wouldn't  stop 
the  party  for  only  me  ?  "  There  was  a  quaver  to 
the  last  words,  and  though  the  child  kept  his  face 
hidden,  Mr.  Hugh  noticed  for  the  first  time  that 
his  cheeks  were  flushed,  and  the  whole  thing 
flashed  across  him. 

uOf  course  I'll  wait,"  he  said  heartily.  "It 
would  never  do  to  have  the  party  a  man  short ; 
besides,  what  would  your  sweetheart,  Miss  Letty, 
do  ?  You  know  you  promised  to  show  her  how  to 
shoot,  and  lend  her  your  gun.  Is  the  poor  throat 
very  sore  ?  Come  up  here  and  we  will  have  a  ride 
home  round  through  the  front  gate,  and  tell  that 
nice  mother  of  ours  all  about  it,  and  have  it  cured," 

2B 


370  DOGTOWN 

"  Yes,  it's  sore,  and  it's  getting  pretty  tight,  too, 
and  I'm  dreffle  sleepy,"  said  Tommy,  falling 
unconsciously  into  the  trap,  and  leaning  comfort 
ably  against  Mr.  Hugh,  who  had  pulled  him  on  to 
the  saddle  before  him.  But  his  anxiety  had 
passed,  so  long  as  he  did  not  miss  the  party  ;  a 
sore  throat,  in  the  nice  sunny  room  that  had  been 
the  nursery  and  was  now  set  apart  for  illness,  with 
a  big  open  fire  to  watch,  picture  books,  mother  to 
sit  by  and  read,  or  father  to  make  up  stories,  and 
a  dog  or  two  for  company  when  they  went  away, 
was  indeed  luxury. 

This,  however,  was  the  last  delay,  and  the 
black  frost  kindly  kept  away,  leaving  the  last 
week  in  October  as  beautiful  and  suitable  as  heart 
could  desire. 

Beside  the  Hilltop  and  Happy  Hall  people, 
who  were  all  intimate  friends,  Mr.  Hugh  had 
invited  some  of  his  own  and  Squire  Burley's  men 
friends,  also  a  handful  of  the  village  young  people. 
In  addition  there  was  a  Miss  Varley  stopping  at 
the  Scotts'.  Her  brother  was  a  college  chum  of 
Pinkie's  big  brother,  and  they  were  all  three 
invited,  as  they  were  fond  of  sport,  and  good 
riders. 

The  Varleys,  who  came  from  the  south,  where 
they  hunt  foxes  altogether  on  horseback,  suggested 


THE   BARBED   WIRE   FENCE  371 

to  Mr.  Hugh  that  he  should  put  corn-stalk  or 
brush  hurdles  in  some  of  the  gateless  gaps  in 
his  tumble-down  stone  fences,  and  have  a  drag- 
hunt  over  the  course  to  break  in  the  young 
hounds,  who  all  told  numbered  a  pack  of  twenty. 

Squire  Burley  was  one  of  the  few  Hillside  folk 
who  owned  a  hunter,  because  in  this  section  all 
the  fox-hunting  was  a  necessity,  done  in  earnest, 
and  afoot,  with  a  swift  death  by  bullet  for  the  hen 
roost  robbers.  The  Squire  opened  his  land  for  the 
drag-hunt,  likewise  Miss  Jule  and  several  small 
farmers,  for  all  the  crops  were  in  but  the  stacks 
of  corn  stalks.  A  drag-hunt,  as  Anne  explained 
to  Miss  Letty,  "is  when  you  put  seeds  that  smell 
like  a  fox  in  a  bag  and  drag  it  round  early 
in  the  morning  when  the  dew  is  heavy  and  holds 
the  scent  down.  Then  the  dogs  think  it  is  a  fox 
trail,  and  run  like  anything,  and  never  find  that 
there  isn't  any  fox  until  it's  too  late  to  back  out, 
and  before  the  next  time  they  forget  all  about 
how  they  were  cheated." 

"  You  will  be  the  only  woman  to  follow,"  Mr. 
Hugh  had  said  to  Miss  Varley,  when  the  arrange 
ments  were  completed.  "  Only  two  or  three  of 
our  girls  ride,  and  they  never  take  fences,  though 
Diana  here  is  beginning  to  train  for  a  huntress." 

Anne  had  laughed  softly  at  this,  and  glanced 


372  DOGTOWN 

slyly  at  Miss  Letty,  for  Mr.  Hugh  had  caught 
them  one  morning  when  Anne  was  trying  to 
coax  her  father's  horse,  Tom,  over  an  improvised 
hurdle  composed  of  a  rake  handle  set  upon  two 
small  boxes,  which  collapsed  upon  the  slightest 
provocation  ;  but  he  had  not  come  in  time  to 
observe  that  Miss  Letty,  who  was  mounted  on 
Miss  Jule's  Brown  Kate,  could  handle  a  horse 
very  well,  and  already  managed  three  of  the  four 
pasture  bars ;  neither  did  he  know  that  several 
years  back,  when  at  school  in  England,  she  had 
spent  her  holidays  with  the  daughters  of  a  farm 
ing  squire  to  whom  cross-country  riding  was  as 
familiar  a  doing  as  eating  breakfast. 

When  the  time  was  finally  set,  it  chanced  to 
fall  upon  the  very  last  day  of  October. 

"Surely,  the  night  is  Hallowe'en,  and  so  we 
can  have  apple  and  nut  sports,  and  the  like," 
exclaimed  Mrs.  Carr,  when  Mr.  Hugh  went  up  to 
make  the  arrangements  for  the  supper  party 
which  would  fill  two  long  tables,  one  in  the 
dining  room  and  another  in  the  kitchen,  making 
it  necessary  that  one  of  Mr.  Hugh's  maids  as  well 
as  Mary  Anne  and  Miss  Jule's  Anna  Maria  should 
help  the  old  lady. 

Mr.  Hugh's  brake  and  the  bus  from  the  village 
were  to  transport  the  people  to  and  fro,  and  there 


THE   BARBED   WIRE   FENCE  373 

would  be  a  picnic  lunch  on  the  rocks  by  the  old 
mill-dam  at  noon;  one  of  Mr.  Hugh's  first  im 
provements  having  been  to  repair  the  broken- 
down  wall,  so  that  the  pond  would  be  in  good 
condition  for  skating,  and  he  had,  likewise,  put 
up  a  small  log  shelter  for  the  skaters.  ' 

Tommy  was  the  only  small  child  invited ;  but 
Mr.  Hugh  knew  that  he  could  be  trusted  to  amuse 
himself  and  curl  up  in  any  corner  and  go  to  sleep 
if  he  grew  weary  before  going-home  time  came. 
Likewise,  as  such  a  field  day  was  almost  as  rare  as 
Christmas  that  "  comes  but  once  a  year,"  his 
mother  said  that  he  might  stay  up  with  the  others 
—  that  is,  if  he  was  able. 

When  the  day  came,  it  was  one  of  those  wonder 
ful  forerunners  of  Indian  summer;  cool  in  the 
morning,  warm,  with  a  light  breeze  at  noon,  and 
at  night  clear  with  a  piercing  electric  brightness 
rayed  from  the  north. 

Most  of  the  trees  in  the  woods  were  bare,  ex 
cept  a  few  oaks,  the  dead  leaves  were  crisp  to  the 
tread,  and  witch  hazel  was  in  its  strange  yellow 
bloom  in  the  hollows,  but  the  leaves  still  clung  in 
the  orchards,  and  the  honeysuckles  on  farmhouse 
porches  were  green  and  showed  sprays  of  flowers. 

Anne  and  Tommy  went  to  Hilltop  with  the 
very  first  load,  which  was  compounded  partly 


374  DOGTOWN 

of  dogs  and  partly  of  the  "extras"  that  Mrs. 
Carr  needed.  Neither,  of  course,  were  to  follow 
the  drag-hunt,  but  they  wanted  to  be  on  the 
spot,  and  Mr.  Hugh  had  solemnly  promised 
Tommy  that  if  he  followed  a  certain  safe  wood- 
path  leading  round  about  in  a  circle,  that  he 
should  meet  a  rabbit  face  to  face.  While  Anne, 
who  delighted  in  Mrs.  Carr's  kitchen,  was  to  have 
the  honour  of  making  a  batch  of  the  celebrated 
seed  cakes  all  by  herself.  Waddles,  his  wife, 
and  his  son  Jack,  leashed  together  for  a  wonder, 
rode  up  with  their  mistress,  for  it  was  not 
thought  best  to  let  them  take  their  chances  so 
early  in  the  day  with  the  rough-and-ready  fox 
hounds;  but  as  they  were  leaving  the  brake, 
Jack  Waddles  managed  to  slip  loose  and  bolted 
off,  much  to  Anne's  worriment. 

Tommy  shielded  his  pockets  carefully  that  morn 
ing,  for  in  them  was  concealed  a  secret  that  made 
him  feel  alternately  important  and  then  very 
guilty ;  for  he  had  a  bag  full  of  shot  in  each 
pocket,  the  blacksmith's  boy  not  only  having 
shown  him  how  to  use  it,  but  supplied  him  with 
it  as  well,  in  return  for  two  enormous  pumpkins 
that  he  had  coveted  for  lantern  making. 

When  Anne  went  indoors,  Mr.  Hugh,  who 
was  riding  about  collecting  forces  and  telling 


THE  BARBED   WIRE   FENCE  375 

Martin,  who  had  volunteered,  exactly  where  to 
trail  the  drag,  passed  down  the  road  on  his  way 
to  meet  the  Varleys  and  show  them  the  cut  to 
Squire  Burley's,  for  the  hounds  were  gathered 
there,  as  the  start  was  to  be  from  his  orchard. 

Miss  Vaiiey  certainly  looked  very  well  on  a 
horse,  and  was  perfectly  aware  of  it.  She  wore 
a  black  skirt,  a  tight-fitting  red  coat  and  a  small 
continental  hat  looped  up  with  a  cockade  —  a 
costume  in  which  artists  and  illustrators  had 
painted  or  sketched  her;  and  she  kept  her  horse 
continually  curvetting  and  champing  at  the  bit,  as 
she  made  somewhat  cutting  remarks  about  what 
she  termed  "mere  bab}^  business,"  and  derided 
the  local  habit  of  shooting  foxes,  in  contrast  to  the 
cross-country  riding  to  which  she  was  accustomed. 

As  Mr.  Hugh  was  explaining  that  the  animals 
were  so  plentiful  in  this  country  of  rocky  caves 
that  the  farmers  must  keep  them  down  in  the 
easiest  way,  by  locating  the  runs  with  the  hounds 
and  following  afoot,  —  he  glanced  a  bit  ahead  and 
saw,  to  his  astonishment,  Miss  Letty  mounted 
upon  Brown  Kate,  waiting  quietly  opposite  Squire 
Burley's,  Jack  Waddles  standing  sentinel  beside 
her ;  and  as  he  came  near,  she  greeted  him  with 
an  amused  sort  of  smile,  as  if  such  things  as 
following  a  drag  were  of  daily  occurrence. 


376  DOGTOWN 

Mr.  Hugh  felt  angry,  and  rather  showed  it ; 
but  it  was  really  a  form  that  worry  takes  with 
some  quite  nice  men.  He  was  at  heart  afraid 
that  she  did  not  know  how  to  ride,  and  might 
come  to  grief.  He  cared  a  great  deal,  but  merely 
said,  as  if  she  had  been  fifteen  :  "  What !  are  you 
going  ?  Was  your  aunt  willing  ?  I  thought  you 
and  Anne  would  keep  each  other  company  until 
luncheon." 

"Certainly,  I  am  going,"  she  answered,  flushing 
painfully  at  having  what  both  she  and  Miss  Jule 
had  meant  for  a  surprise  taken  in  such  a  way ;  and 
added  quickly,  and  rather  at  random  :  "  Have  you 
had  that  old  barbed  wire  fence  taken  down  in  the 
middle  lot  ?  You  asked  me  to  remind  you  of  it, 
but  I  quite  forgot  until  this  morning ;  and  it  may 
cripple  some  of  the  dogs." 

"  It's  rather  late  now,"  said  Mr.  Hugh,  annoyed 
to  realize  that  he  too  had  forgotten.  "  But  no  one 
with  common  sense  need  go  anywhere  near  it, 
and  if  they  do,  they  must  take  their  chances." 

At  this  moment  the  hounds  were  put  on  the 
trail,  and  the  party  started  off,  Miss  Letty,  who 
looked  very  girlish  in  the  white  cloth  shirt  waist 
and  white  felt  sailor  hat  that  replaced  the  linen 
and  straw  of  summer,  rode  with  Pinkie  Scott's 
brother,  who  admired  her  exceedingly.  "  Follow 


Miss  Letty  was  waiting  with  a  smile." 


THE  BARBED  WIRE  FENCE        379 

me,  and  we  will  show  them  steel  heels,-"  he  said 
under  his  breath,  cutting  across  the  orchard, 
and  Miss  Letty,  holding  a  firm  rein  and  leaning 
slightly  forward,  followed. 

Meanwhile  Tommy  and  Waddles,  whom,  after 
much  difficulty,  he  had  coaxed  to  follow  him, 
started  from  Robin  Hood's  Inn  to  hunt  on  their 
own  account,  the  way  indicated  by  Mr.  Hugh 
being  very  plain,  and  through  the  part  of  the 
land  where  the  drag-hunt  was  not. 

At  first  Waddles  moved  about  here  and  there, 
treeing  squirrels,  digging  spasmodically  for  ground 
mice,  who  were  travelling  in  the  burrows  of  moles, 
while  Tommy  wandered  down  the  bed  of  a  dried- 
up  brook,  his  gun  held  in  a  sportsmanlike  grip, 
and  his  eyes  searching  the  trees  for  the  big  owl 
he  promised  himself  that  he  would  shoot,  and  ask 
Baldy  to  stuff  as  full  as  life  to  grace  the  top  of 
Miss  Letty's  desk. 

But  it  often  happens,  when  one  goes  a-hunt- 
ing,  that  the  birds,  beasts,  and  fishes  have  engage 
ments  elsewhere.  A  hawk  soared  over  toward 
the  river,  and  crows  were  quarrelling  up  in  their 
roost  in  the  cedars,  but  the  only  birds  that  came 
near  were  a  downy  woodpecker,  a  nuthatch,  and 
a  chickadee,  and  Anne's  brother  would  not  think 
of  even  aiming  at  these. 


380  DOGTOWN 

Tommy  walked  on  in  silence,  a  state  to  which 
he  was  quite  a  stranger,  until  he  began  to  feel 
that  not  to  speak  even  to  a  dog  gave  one  a  queer, 
chilly  feeling ;  then  he  noticed  that  he  had  wan 
dered  out  of  the  beaten  path,  and  he  stopped  to 
look  about,  and  whistled  for  Waddles.  He  was 
not  afraid,  for  he  was  quite  accustomed  to  taking 
care  of  himself,  but  he  was  disappointed  about  the 
rabbit,  and  angry  with  Waddles  because  he  had 
gone  off  without  finding  a  trail.  Then  he  spied  a 
quantity  of  hickory  nuts  lying  on  the  rocks  where 
a  squirrel  had  evidently  collected  them,  and  he 
began  to  crack  them  with  a  stone,  and  pick  out 
the  meats  very  deliberately,  which  showed  that 
Tommy  was  tired. 

Presently  he  heard  a  sound  close  behind  that 
reminded  him  of  the  noise  the  mother  screech- 
owl  had  made  when  she  snapped  her  beak.  Get 
ting  up  cautiously  he  looked  about.  There,  in 
deep  shade,  perched  on  the  gnarled  root  of  a  hick 
ory  tree  that  overlapped  the  rock,  was  a  great  owl 
with  a  smooth,  round  head,  blue-black  eyes,  and 
brown,  barred  feathers.  The  bird  sat  still  without 
blinking,  watching  a  small  hole  under  the  root. 
Tommy  stood  still,  scarcely  breathing,  in  his  won 
der  at  the  bird,  hoping  that  it  would  not  see  him  and 
flap  in  his  face  as  the  screech-owl  had  in  Anne's. 


Tommy  walked  on  in  Silence. 


THE   BARBED    WIRE   FENCE 


383 


Suddenly  a  young  chipmunk,  with  back  and  tail 
striped  like  a  garter  snake's,  ran  out  of  the  hole. 
One  of  the  hooked  claws  made  a  grab,  snap 
went  the  beak,  the  little  animal  was  secured,  and 
the  owl,  spreading  its 
broad  wings,  flew  into 
a  hemlock,  where  it  be 
gan  to  eat  at  its  leisure. 
Then  only  did  Tommy 
remember  his  gun,  and 
about  his  promise  to 
Miss  Letty. 

"  Never  mind, "  he  said 
to  himself ;  "  father  says 
owls  are  usefuller  than 
most  things  they  eat, 
and  that  they  oughtn't 
to  be  killed,  so  I'm  glad 
I  let  him  go;  but  rab 
bits  eat  lots  of  our  garden  things  every  year.  I 
must  look  for  that  bunny,  because  it's  here  some 
where,  for  when  Mr.  Hugh  says  so,  it  always 
happens." 

Tommy  found  his  way  back  to  the  path,  and 
met  Waddles  hurrying  along;  he  also  had  found 
poor  hunting,  and  was  now  willing  to  follow. 
After  walking  some  distance,  and  having  several 


384  DOGTOWN 

false  alarms  (for  when  on  the  watch  a  couple  of 
beech  leaves  or  a  tuft  of  wild  grass  take  fanciful 
shapes),  Tommy  actually  saw  a  pair  of  long  ears 
held  erect,  and  a  pair  of  bright  eyes  glistening 
around  the  corner  of  a  rock  just  before  him.  His 
first  fear  was  that  Waddles  should  see  the  prize 
and  chase  it  away  before  he  had  a  chance  to  aim 
and  cock  his  trigger,  which  was  quite  a  feat,  the 
spring  was  so  strong.  For  once,  Waddles  neither 
scented  nor  suspected  anything,  but  kept  close  to 
Tommy's  heels,  nosing  about  in  the  moss. 

One  step  more,  the  child  raised  his  gun,  shut 
his  eyes,  and  fired,  and  then  a  reaction  came,  and 
he  didn't  like  to  open  them  again,  so  sure  he 
was  of  having  killed  the  pretty  creature.  Finally 
he  peeped  a  little,  then  stared,  for  there  sat  the 
rabbit  as  round-eyed  and  placid  as  before  ;  it  had 
not  even  moved  ! 

Tommy's  impulse  to  fire  again  was  stopped  by 
the  thought  that  it  would  be  very  mean  to  shoot 
such  a  tame  animal,  and  that  it  must  be  some  one's 
pet,  though  it  was  not -Pinkie  Scott's,  for  every 
body  in  Dogtown  knew  her  rabbits  by  heart,  they 
had  carried  them  home  to  her  so  many  times,  when 
they  had  strayed  off  gardening  on  their  own  hook. 

Waddles  sauntered  slowly  forward,  saw  the 
rabbit,  and  making  a  spring,  knocked  it  over  with 


THE   BARBED   WIRE   FENCE  387 

one  blow  of  his  paw;  but  still  it  did  not  move. 
Then  Tommy  saw  that  it  was  a  stuffed  beast 
mounted  on  a  little  wooden  platform,  to  which 
moss  and  dead  leaves  were  glued.  When  he  had 
recovered  from  his  astonishment  he  was  ready  to 
cry  with  rage.  "It  was  too  mean  of  Mr.  Hugh," 
he  muttered.  "He  promised  —  he  promised,  and 
then  he  didn't  do  it."  Then  the  exact  words  of  the 
promise  came  to  him;  it  was  that  he  was  to  "meet 
a  rabbit  face  to  face."  "  I  s'pose  I  have,"  he  con 
tinued;  "only  he  didn't  say  its  insides  would  be 
stuffing  instead  of  real."  But  when  he  picked  up 
his  •  gun,  which  he  had  dropped,  and  looked  it 
over,  and  felt  the  bag  which  sagged  his  pocket,  he 
remembered  that  he  had  forgotten  to  put  any  shot 
in  the  gun.  Then  he  walked  along,  leaving  the 
poor  stuffed  rabbit  resting  on  one  ear,  wondering 
which  was  the  worst,  to  have  shot  at  a  real  rabbit 
with  no  shot,  or  to  have  been  fooled  by  a  stuffed 
one,  and  at  the  moment  that  he  made  up  his  mind 
that  the  first  would  be  the  most  aggravating,  he 
turned  into  the  low  meadow  that  was  divided  from 
its  neighbour  by  the  old  barbed  wire  fence,  and 
from  which  the  lane  led  to  Robin  Hood's  Inn. 

A  yelping  of  dogs  sounded  afar  off  in  the  rear, 
with  straggling  cries  on  both  sides  of  him  and  in 
front.  Off  started  Waddles,  quickly  disappearing 


388  DOGTOWN 

in  the  bushes,  and  Tommy  followed  as  fast  as  his 
legs  could  carry  him,  for  he  heard  a  voice  and  the 
trampling  of  hoofs,  and  if  the  run  was  over,  it 
must  be  luncheon  time. 

All  unknown  to  him  the  drag-hunt  had  split  in 
two,  deaf  Mrs.  Happy  being  the  innocent  first 
cause.  She  had  gone  to  Robin  Hood's  Inn  with 
Anne,  and  had  curled  up  contentedly  in  the  sunny 
porch  in  company  with  old  Laddie,  when  presently 
an  odour  reached  her  nose  that  caused  her  to 
spring  up, 'sniff  the  air,  and  start  headlong  down 
the  lane  to  the  road,  where,  on  crossing  the  stone 
fence,  she  struck  the  trail  of  a  skunk,  startled  from 
his  daytime  lodging  by  the  hounds  who  had 
recently  passed  close  by.  Nose  to  ground,  she 
gave  tongue  and  followed  the  skunk,  who  had 
zigzagged  about  the  fences  for  a  time  before 
making  off  to  another  hiding-place  he  had  by  the 
river.  Further  down,  the  hounds  in  doubling 
crossed  this  new  trail,  and  some  of  the  young 
ones,  hearing  Happy's  cry,  were  drawn  off  upon  ! 
it,  part  of  the  riders  following,  only  to  come  upon 
impassable  rocks  by  the  river  cut. 


The  barking  came  nearer,  and  Happy,  Waddles, 
and  Jack  dashed  past  Tommy  and  up  the  lane  ; 


THE  BARBED  WIRE  FENCE        389 

at  the  same  time  he  saw  a  riderless  horse  in  the 
outer  field,  and  something  seemed  to  move  near 
the  barbed  wire  fence  that  ran  between. 

"  It's  one  of  those  poor  hounds,  and  that  wicked 
wire  has  caught  him,"  cried  Tommy,  running 
toward  the  spot  with  his  eyes  flashing  and  his 
little  fists  doubled  up,  for,  like  Anne,  he  could 
not  bear  to  have  animals  suffer  pain. 

But  when  he  got  near  he  saw  that  it  was  not 
a  hound  that  was  caught  by  the  wire,  but  Mr. 
Hugh!  For  an  instant  Tommy  was  frightened, 
but  as  soon  as  he  saw  that  his  friend  was  not  hurt, 
but  merely  held  fast  by  the  clothes  in  a  dozen 
places,  the  fun  of  the  situation  struck  him,  and  he 
capered  about  shouting,  and  making  comments, 
and  asking  questions,  all  in  one  breath. 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Hugh,  you  do  look  so  funny  !  If  only 
Anne  were  here  with  her  camera  to  take  a  picture  ! 
If  you'll  wait  long  enough,  I'll  go  fetch  her,  for 
you're  hooked  up  just  like  when  Pinkie  Scott 
reached  after  lilies  and  fell  in  the  pond,  and  they 
pulled  her  out  from  behind  with  the  hay -fork. 
Did  the  horse  tumble  you  in  like  that  ?  " 

The  truth  was  that  Mr.  Hugh  had  dismounted 
to  let  down  some  bars  for  the  people  who  had 
gone  astray,  and  his  horse,  feeling  fresh,  gal 
loped  off.  In  trying  to  head  him  off  by  a  short 


390  DOGTOWN 

cut,  Mr.  Hugh  had  met  the  barbed  wire  fence, 
seen  a  gap  between  the  strands,  dashed  at  it, 
only  to  be  caught  by  a  couple  of  slack  wires 
when  halfway  through,  in  such  a  position  that 
if  he  let  go  the  only  hold  he  had  upon  a  half 
rotten  post,  he  must  fall  upon  a  rusty  coil  that 
guarded  the  tumble-down  stone  fence  below. 
Barbed  wire  at  best  is  cruel  stuff,  and  when  it  is 
old  and  rusty  every  scratch  it  gives  means  danger. 

"Stop  bawling  so,  for  pity's  sake,  and  see  if 
you  can  help  me  out  of  this  mess  before  the  others 
come ;  try  to  pry  the  wire  with  a  stick,"  said  Mr. 
Hugh,  in  so  hoarse  a  whisper  that  Tommy  in 
stantly  obeyed,  or  rather  tried  to,  bat  the  sticks 
at  hand  were  either  too  small  or  rotten,  and  at 
every  twist  the  poor  man  made  the  hooked  wire 
seemed  to  take  new  hold. 

At  this  moment  the  snapping  of  twigs  and  the 
padding  sound  of  hoofs  on  grass  made  Mr.  Hugh 
give  a  painful  writhe  to  look  over  his  shoulder ; 
his  discomfiture  was  complete,  for  there  was  Miss 
Letty. 

She  slipped  quickly  to  the  ground,  and  tether 
ing  Brown  Kate  to  a  branch,  came  forward, 
looking,  as  Tommy  told  Anne  that  night  in  the 
privacy  of  his  little  bed,  "the  colour  you  feel 
when  you've  waited  too  long  for  your  breakfast." 


THE   BARBED   WIRE   FENCE  391 

Seeing  that  Mr.  Hugh  had  not  been  thrown,  but 
was  merely  snared,  she  pulled  herself  together  and 
hesitated  for  a  moment  ;  while  he,  putting  on  an 
air  of  bravado  which  was  very  funny  under  the 
cramped  circumstances,  said  :  "  Yes,  here  I  am, 
and  having  parted  with  my  common  sense  I'm 
taking  the  consequences,  and  you  have  your  re 
venge.  When  all  the  party  have  had  a  good  look 
at  me,  I  suppose  some  one  will  help  me  out." 

Miss  Letty  did  not  answer  though  she  was 
afraid  he  would  hear  her  heart  beat  it  was 
thumping  so  loudly,  but  looking  about  with  a 
swift  glance  spied  Tommy's  gun  that  had  fallen 
unnoticed  in  the  grass.  Seizing  it,  she  slipped 
it  between  the  two  furthest  apart  wires,  manag 
ing  to  catch  a  barb  in  the  muzzle,  and  pried, 
while  with  the  handle  of  her  riding  crop  she 
pulled  back  the  two  loose  strands  with  all  her 
strength.  There  was  a  sound  of  tearing  cloth, 
a  pocket  burst  open,  throwing  its  contents  in 
among  the  leaves,  and  Mr.  Hugh  crawled  out  on 
his  hands  and  knees,  literally  at  Miss  Letty's  feet. 
Just  as  she  stretched  out  her  hand  to  help  him, 
lest  he  slip  backward,  one  of  the  papers  that 
Tommy  was  cramming  back  into  the  letter-case 
caught  her  eye ;  it  was  the  picture  of  herself  that 
Anne  had  taken,  and  which  had  disappeared  as  if 


392  DOGTOWN 

by  magic.  Mr.  Hugh,  if  it  was  possible,  turned 
redder  than  he  was  before  he  was  released ;  but 
Letty,  with  quiet  tact,  quickly  unfastened  Brown 
Kate  and,  scrambling  into  the  saddle  by  the  aid 
of  a  stone  at  the  fence  corner,  cantered  off  in 
the  opposite  direction  to  where  Mr.  Hugh's  horse 
was  now  quietly  grazing. 

For  a  minute  the  big  man  and  the  little  one 
stood  eying  each  other  curiously.  Then  Tommy 
broke  the  pause :  "  Now  isn't  Miss  Letty  common 
sensible  and  useful  enough  to  be  your  sweetheart, 
Mr.  Hugh,  even  if  she  is  pretty  ?  And  wouldn't 
that  red  and  black  girl  have  shouted  if  she'd  seen 
you  in  the  fence  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Tommy,"  said  Mr.  Hugh,  quietly;  "you 
are  a  better  judge  than  I  was  ;  but  Miss  Letty 
does  not  wish  to  be  the  sweetheart  of  an  old  bear 
like  me." 

"  No,"  said  Tommy,  candidly,  "  I  guess  not,  for 
I've  heard  her  say  you  were  a  bear,  and  so  has 
Anne."  And  though  Tommy  handed  back  the 
letter  book  containing  the  picture  without  further 
comment,  he  had  seen,  and  when  one  has  seen  a 
thing,  one  can  hardly  unsee  it  again.  Mr.  Hugh 
secured  his  horse  and  regained  the  road,  Tommy 
riding  in  front  of  him,  before  he  overtook  the 
others ;  and  the  beseeching  look  that  the  big  man 


THE   BAKBED   WIRE   FENCE  393 

gave  the  little  one  as  he  swung  him  to  the  ground 
kept  him  quiet  concerning  the  barbed  wire  episode, 
at  least  for  some  hours. 


At  the  end  of  an  afternoon  spent  in  archery, 
and  shooting  clay  pigeons,  winding  up  with  a  great 
game  of  hide  and  seek,  in  which  old  and  young, 
men  and  women,  joined,  the  last  one  to  be  found 
receiving  a  prize  of  the  beautifully  painted  head 
of  a  foxhound,  supper  and  the  fire  warmth  made 
the  party  good-naturedly  drows}^. 

Miss  Varley,  who  won  the  prize,  had  hidden 
herself  beyond  finding  by  dropping  into  the 
hollow  trunk  of  an  old  chestnut  tree  ;  but  the 
agility  that  took  her  in  did  not  get  her  out 
again,  which  was  only  accomplished  by  a  long, 
strong  pull  by  two  of  the  most  muscular  men  of 
the  party,  engineered  by  Mr.  Hugh.  This,  how 
ever,  did  not  count,  and  being  much  elated  and 
in  high  spirits,  she  gradually  stirred  the  company 
into  story-telling,  camp-fire  fashion,  with  the 
difference  that  no  one  was  to  talk  for  a  longer 
time  than  the  faggot  he  or  she  threw  on  the 
flames  should  burn.  This  caused  more  than  one 
tale  to  break  off  before  the  climax,  and  the 
guessing  and  merriment  that  ensued  soon  made 


394  DOGTOWN 

every  one  wide  awake  again,  with  the  exception 
of  Tommy,  who  was  destined  to  finish  the  even 
ing  under  the  blue  and  white  curtains  of  Mrs. 
Carr's  ample  four  poster.  So,  as  he  said  he  had 
a  story  to  tell,  he  was  given  the  next  turn.  Lik 
ing  quick  results,  he  picked  a  handful  of  white 
pine  cones  from  the  basket  instead  of  a  stick, 
and  as  they  flashed  into  a  juicy  flame  began 
deliberately :  — 

"Once  there  was  a  barbed  wire  fence  on  top 
of  a  stone  wall.  It  ought  to  have  been  taken 
down,  'cause  it  was  rusty  and  wicked,  but  it 
wasn't,  'cause  somebody  forgot."  —  Seeing  signs 
of  agitated  interest  in  at  least  two  of  his  audience, 
Tommy  spoke  faster  —  "  This  old  fence  was  very 
cruel  indeed,  and  it  caught  things  tighter  than 
spiders  and  flies,  but  the  things  were  bigger. 
First  it  caught  a  dear  little  dog  named  Jill,  and 
Mrs.  Carr,  when  she  was  the  Herb  Witch,  pulled 
her  out  and  mended  her.  The  next  thing  that 
barbed  wire  fence  caught  was  bigger  and  funnier 
—  a  —  great  —  big  —  "  "Time's  up,"  called  Mr. 
Hugh,  before  Tommy  could  say  another  word,  at 
the  moment  that  the  blaze  vanished  in  blackness, 
after  the  fashion  of  pine-cone  fires ;  and  if  you 
said  even  a  single  word  after  time  was  called, 
you  must  pay  a  fine. 


THE  BARBED  WIRE  FENCE        395 

However,  as  Anne  led  Tommy  away,  fairly 
stumbling  with  the  sleep  that  was  in  his  heels  if 
not  in  his  head,  he  turned,  hung  back,  and  said  to 
Mr.  Hugh,  in  a  piping  voice  that  could  be  heard 
above  all  the  babble,  "You  needn't  have  looked 
so  scared,  I  wasn't  going  to  tell  it  just  zackly  the 
way  it  was  —  nor  about  that  picture  Anne  took 
of  Miss  Letty  —  nor  —  "  but  the  closing  door  kindly 
shut  Tommy  off,  and  though  the  entire  party 
suspected  a  joke  of  some  kind,  only  one  beside 
the  conscious  pair  saw  through  the  whole  affair. 
This  was  Miss  Jule,  who  had  seen  Mr.  Hugh 
slip  the  photograph  into  his  pocket  that  after 
noon  long  ago,  before  the  sixlets  were  born.  She 
had  also  chanced  to  see  from  a  distance  the  barbed 
wire  fence  episode,  and  for  some  reason  known 
to  herself  a  motherly  smile  of  content  lighted 
her  plain  features,  until  Letty,  glancing  shyly  at 
her  aunt,  wondered  why  she  had  never  before 
thought  her  fine  looking. 

Mrs.  Carr's  various  combinations  of  apples,  nuts, 
candles,  rings-,  flour,  and  pails  of  water,  that  go  to 
make  up  Hallowe'en  tricks,  produced  more  good- 
natured  fun,  especially  when  Miss  Letty,  after 
swinging  it  thrice  over  her  head,  threw  the  apple 
paring  over  her  left  shoulder,  causing  Anne  to 
exclaim  at  the  initial  it  made,  which  was  promptly 


396  DOGTOWN 

eaten  by  Tip,  who  loved  fruit,  before  any  one  else 
could  decipher  it. 

Then  the  stage  and  brake  came  up,  and  there 
was  a  search  for  wraps,  while  Anne  was  as 
tounded  and  mystified  to  find  Miss  Letty  hug 
ging  poor  Happy  and  stuffing  her  with  cold 
chicken.  She  had  been  shut  up  supperless  in  a 
back  passageway  because  she  had  been  disobedi 
ent  and  spoiled  the  hunt,  and  had  also  gone  too 
near  the  skunk. 

Mr.  Hugh's  horse  had  been  put  up  in  Miss 
Jule's  stable,  so  he  rode  that  far  in  the  brake  with 
the  others,  and  stopped  off  to  get  him.  As  there 
was  no  reason  why  he  should  wait  outside  in  the 
cold,  he  went  in  with  Miss  Jule,  who  hurried  off 
to  make  some  coffee  (Anna  Maria  having  re 
tired),  as  she  said,  to  "  settle  their  wits,  after  too 
much  supper  and  too  much  laughter,"  leaving  the 
two  standing  before  the  hall  fire,  feeling  equally 
awkward.  Colin  and  Hamlet,  who  had  stayed  at 
home,  hearing  voices,  came  racing  from  the  kitchen 
hall  and  greeted  Letty  with  an  unfeigned  joy  that 
tumbled  her  hair  down  on  her  shoulders,  while 
Tip,  not  to  be  outdone,  sprang  upon  the  back  of  a 
near-by  chair  and,  paws  on  her  shoulder,  gave  her 
a  kiss  on  the  tip  of  the  nose. 

"  Love  me,  love  my  dog,"  quoted  Miss  Letty, 


THE  BARBED  WIRE  FENCE        397 

struggling  with  her  pets,  and,  after  the  fashion  of 
flustered  people,  meaning  nothing  in  particular  by 
her  words. 

"  I  do,"  answered  Mr.  Hugh,  promptly,  having 
found  himself  at  last. 

"  Ah  !  "  was  what  Miss  Jule  said,  when  she  re 
turned  with  the  coffee  fifteen  minutes  later. 

That  night  Miss  Letty  wrote  a  long  letter  to 
her  Aunt  Marie,  telling  her  that  she  liked  Ameri 
can  customs  so  much  that  she  had  decided  to  re 
main  in  the  country.  The  letter  also  said  other 
things  which  prevented  Aunt  Marie  from  accus 
ing  Aunt  Jule  of  unfair  influence,  which  was  quite 
fortunate. 

Before  the  week  was  over  everybody  had  heard 
the  news,  and  everybody  was  glad,  which  was  quite 
wonderful,  and  Tommy  had  the  honour  of  being 
the  messenger.  This  office  he  filled  most 
thoroughly,  adding  details  from  time  to  time  to 
entertain  his  hearers,  that  were  certainly  not  a 
part  of  his  commission. 

Presently,  one  rainy  day,  Miss  Letty  herself  came 
down,  as  Anne  said,  for  a  good  talk,  and  before 
seating  herself  with  the  children  and  dogs  on  the 
hearth  rug,  she  pulled  a  round  bundle  from  her 
ulster  pocket  and  tossed  it  to  Anne,  who  exclaimed 
upon  opening  it,  for  out  fell  two  beautiful  silver 


398  DOGTOWN 

bands,  lined  with  chamois,  upon  which  letters 
were  engraved. 

"  Why,  they  are  dog  collars !  Who  are  they 
for?"  she  exclaimed,  holding  them  toward  the 
light  to  read  the  letters. 

"  For  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waddles,  and  they  are  from 
us,  because,  —  because,  you  see,  we  think  that  if 
Happy  had  not  mixed  up  the  drag-hunt  we  might 
have  kept  on  misunderstanding  and  wandering 
around  Robin  Hood's  barn  always." 

"They  are  perfectly  lovely,  and  too  good  for 
every  day,"  said  Anne,  fastening  one  on  Happy, 
but  having  to  coax  Waddles,  who  was  always  sus 
picious  of  new-fangled  things.  "  But  don'.t  you 
really,  truly  think,  dear  Miss  Letty,  that  the  poor 
old  barbed  wire  fence  deserves  a  silver  collar, 
too?" 


CHAPTER   XV 

THE   WEDDING 

THE  wedding  was  in  May,  exactly  a  year  from 
the  day  of  the  poison  ivy  luncheon.  All  Dogtown 
was  invited,  and  filled  the  gray  stone  church  on 
the  hillside  to  overflowing,  even  though  the  dogs 
attended  by  proxy,  except  in  a  few  rare  cases. 
Laddie  was  one  of  these,  for  Mrs.  Carr  never  went 
without  him,  and  he  sat  quietly  beside  her  like  a 
little  old  man,  with  bent  head  and  silvery  locks. 

Mrs.  Carr  herself  was  resplendent  in  a  new 
black  cloak,  and  a  close  silk  bonnet  of  the  bride's 
making  took  the  place  of  the  old  pointed  hood. 
Her  gift  was  her  precious  old  Lowestoft  teaset. 
"  I've  had  my  pride  o'  it,"  she  said,  when  Miss 
Jule  had  remonstrated  with  her,  "  and  when  I  gie 
a  gift  I  like  it  o'  gude  stuff." 

Anne  was  maid  of  honour,  and  Tommy  wept 
bitterly  because  he  could  not  be  best  man.  How 
ever,  he  managed  to  be  quite  prominent  as  it  was. 

The  day  was  perfect,  and  both  the  church  and 
399 


400  DOGTOWN 

the  quaint,  low-studded  rooms  at  the  Hilltop 
Farm  were  turned  into  gardens  by  the  great 
sprays  and  wreaths  of  white  lilacs  and  dogwood 
with  which  Miss  Jule  and  the  Happy  Hall  people 
had  covered  even  the  walls. 

The  dogs  of  all  three  families  had  been  brushed, 
and  their  collars  decorated  with  immense  bows  of 
white  ribbon ;  but  they  were  carefully  locked  up 
during  the  ceremony,  to  be  ready  to  appear  at  the 
breakfast,  for  if  Waddles  had  gone  near  enough  to 
the  church  to  have  heard  the  organ  play,  his  bay 
ing  would  have  certainly  brought  the  wedding 
march  to  an  untimely  end. 

As  it  was,  all  promised  well,  and  as  Miss  Letty 
crossed  the  vine-draped  church  porch,  the  people 
who  watched  thought  that  never  had  there  been  a 
sweeter  girl  bride.  On  the  side  nearest  to  Anne  a 
dimple  that  would  come  and  go,  and  threatened  to 
end  in  a  smile,  broke  the  seriousness  of  her  face, 
and  the  cause  of  it  was  at  first  hidden  by  the  folds 
of  her  veil  and  train.  It  was  Tip,  the  devoted 
spaniel,  who,  climbing  out  of  the  window  of  the 
room  where  he  was  prisoned,  had  dropped  first  to 
the  porch  and  then  the  ground,  and  caught  up 
with  the  procession  just  in  time  to  slip  into  the 
church  unnoticed,  except  by  her  he  was  fol 
lowing. 


THE   WEDDING 


401 


Towever,  he  behaved  like  a  gentleman,  and  sat 
seoately  on   the  top  step  during  the   ceremony. 


This,  together  with  the  white  bow  he  wore,  caused 
some  of  the  village  gossips,  who  were  not  invited, 
to  say  that  the  whole  thing  was  planned,  and  was 

2D 


402 


DOGTOWN 


a  disgrace  to  the  town  ;  but  wise  people  know  that 
such  remarks  are  as  much  a  part  of  a  wedding  as 
the  ring  and  veil. 

Tommy,  who  with  his 
mother  and  father  occupied 
one  of  the  front  pews,  crept 
out  and  drew  gradually 
nearer  to  where  stood  the 
family  lawyer  and  friend, 
on  \vhose  arm  the  bride  had 
entered.  In  another  mo 
ment  he  had  climbed  into 
a  chancel  chair  that  was 
partly  concealed  by  a  col 
umn;  from  this  place  he 
had  an  unimpeded  view. 
It  was  the  first  time  that 
the  child  had  ever  been  to 
a  wedding,  and  the  doings 
had  all  the  fascination  of  entire  novelty. 

So  when  the  clergyman,  looking  up,  asked  dis 
tinctly,  "Who  giveth  this  woman  to  be  married 
to  this  man  ?  "  Tommy  shouted  "  Me  !  "  without 
the  slightest  suspicion  that  it  was  not  what  was 
expected  of  him,  adding  indignantly  to  an  usher 
who  made  haste  to  lift  him  down,  amid  the 
natural  ripple  of  laughter,  "I  had  to,  of  course, 


THE   WEDDING  403 

'cause  she'd  rather,  and  now  she  isn't  my  sweet 
heart  any  more." 

The  wedding  breakfast  was  very  jolly,  at  least 
everybody  said  so,  and  all  sorts  of  jokes  were 
mingled  with  the  congratulations.  The  minis 
ter,  who  was  very  bashful,  astonished  himself  by 
saying  that  he  was  glad  that  they  had  Finished 
with  all  the  barbed  wires  of  life  before  the  wed 
ding,  and  then  suddenly  kissed  the  bride,  amid 
general  applause. 

The  wedding  cake  boxes  were  white  with  ini 
tials,  and  a  dog's  head,  Miss  Jule's  crest,  in  silver. 
And  the  gossips  had  a  second  spasm  when  they 
learned  beyond  dispute  that  there  were  souvenirs, 
of  Miss  Letty's  invention,  for  all  who  owned  dogs 
—  small-sized  Bologna  sausages  wrapped  in  silver 
foil,  and  tied  with  white. 

After  it  was  all  over,  —  and  the  bride  had  gone 
away,  and  the  last  shoe  been  thrown,  while  Miss 
Jule  was  removing  rice  from  her  neck,  saying  to 
a  rather  mournful  relative,  "  Of  course  they  will 
be  happy,  they  can't  help  it,  for  they  not  only 
like  but  dislike  the  same  things,"-  -Tip  appeared 
from  upstairs  with  a  crestfallen  air,  and  in  his 
mouth  a  white  slipper,  one  that  his  idol  had  just 
discarded,  which  had  dropped  to  the  floor  of  her 
room. 


404 


DOGTOWtf 


Coming  out  on  the 
porch,  after  several  ef 
forts  he  succeeded  in 
sitting  upright,  a  trick 
Letty  had  taught  him 
in  imitation  of  Hamlet, 
supporting  his  unsteady 
spine  against  the  post. 
Then,  as  no  Miss  Letty 
came  to  applaud  him,  he 
dropped  the  slipper  on 
the  step  as  a  challenge, 
and  mounted  guard  over 
it  until  night  came,  when 
he  carried  it  with  him 
to  bed  unchidden. 


"  Mistress,"  said  Wad 
dles,  as  he  sat  watching 
her  that  night  while  she  put  away  her  trinkets, 
and  brushed  and  braided  her  hair,  "  I  wish  that  I 
hadn't  eaten  so  much  of  that  round  black  lumpy 
cheese  that  Miss  Letty  cut  with  the  great  knife." 
"  So  do  I,"  said  Anne,  with  a  sigh ;  "  but  then, 
Waddlekins,  you  see  Mr.  Hugh  and  Miss  Letty 
will  never  be  married  to  each  other  again,  and  we 


THE   WEDDING 


405 


must  be  willing  to  bear  a  little  pain  inside  for  the 
sake  of  our  friends  !  " 

Then  the  Mayor  of  Dogtown  and  Diana  his 
mistress  slept  the  sleep  of  wedding  cake,  which 
is  heavy  with  dreams  ! 


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their  various  methods  of  origin  in  language  so  clear  and  untech- 
nical  that  it  will  not  confuse  even  the  most  unscientific."  — 
Boston  Evening  Transcript, 


ILLINOIS  GIRL.  A  PRAIRIE  WINTER.  By  an  Illinois  Girl. 
16mo.  164  pages. 

A  record  of  the  procession  of  the  months  from  midway  in  Septem 
ber  to  midway  in  May.  The  observations  on  Nature  are  accurate 
and  sympathetic,  and  they  are  interspersed  with  glimpses  of  a 
charming  home  life  and  bits  of  cheerful  philosophy. 

INGERSOLL.  WILD  NEIGHBORS.  OUTDOOR  STUDIES  IN 
THE  UNITED  STATES.  By  Ernest  Ingersoll.  12mo. 
Illustrated,  xii  +  301  pages. 

Studies  and  stories  of  the  gray  squirrel,  the  puma,  the  coyote, 
the  badger,  and  other  burrowers,  the  porcupine,  the  skunk,  the 
woodchuck,  and  the  raccoon. 

INMAN.  THE  RANCH  ON  THE  OXHIDE.  By  Henry  Inman. 
12mo.  Illustrated,  xi  +  297  pages. 

A  story  of  pioneer  life  in  Kansas  in  the  late  sixties.  Adventures 
with  wild  animals  and  skirmishes  with  Indians  add  interest  to  the 
narrative. 

JOHNSON.  CERVANTES'  DON  QUIXOTE.  Edited  by  Clifton 
Johnson.  12mo.  Illustrated,  xxiii  +  398  pages. 

A  well-edited  edition  of  this  classic.  The  one  effort  has  been  to 
bring  the  book  to  readable  proportions  without  excluding  any  really 
essential  incident  or  detail,  and  at  the  same  time  to  make  the  text 
unobjectionable  and  wholesome. 

JUDSON.       THE  GROWTH    OF   THE   AMERICAN   NATION.       By 

Harry     Pratt     Judson.     12mo.     Illustrations     and      maps. 
xi  +  359  pages. 

The  cardinal  facts  of  American  History  are  grasped  in  such  a 
way  as  to  show  clearly  the  orderly  development  of  national  life. 

KEARY.  THE  HEROES  OF  ASGARD:  TALES  FROM  SCANDI 
NAVIAN  MYTHOLOGY.  By  A.  and  E.  Keary.  12mo. 
Illustrated.  323  pages. 

The  book  is  divided  into  nine  chapters,  called  "The  yEsir," 
"How  Thor  went  to  Jotimhoim,"  "  Frey,"  "The  Wanderings  of 
Freyja,"  "  Idima's  Apples,"  "  Baldur,"  "The  Binding  of  Fenrir," 
"The  Punishment  of  Loki,"  "Ragnarok." 


6 

KING.     DE  SOTO  AND  HIS  MEN  IN  THE  LAND  OF  FLORIDA. 

By  Grace  King.     12mo.     Illustrated,     xiv  +  326  pages. 

A  story  based  upon  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  accounts  of  the 
attempted  conquest  by  the  armada  which  sailed  under  De  Soto  in 
1538  to  subdue  this  country.  Miss  King  gives  a  most  entertain 
ing  history  of  the  invaders'  struggles  and  of  their  final  demoralized 
rout;  while  her  account  of  the  native  tribes  is  a  most  attractive 
feature  of  the  narrative. 

KINGSLEY.  MADAM  HOW  AND  LADY  WHY:  FIRST  LESSONS 
IN  EARTH  LORE  FOR  CHILDREN.  By  Charles  Kingsley. 
12mo.  Illustrated,  xviii  +  321  pages. 

Madam  How  and  Lady  Why  are  two  fairies  who  teach  the  how 
and  why  of  things  in  nature.  There  are  chapters  on  Earthquakes, 
Volcanoes,  Coral  Reefs,  Glaciers,  etc.,  told  in  an  interesting  man 
ner.  The  book  is  intended  to  lead  children  to  use  their  eyes  c,nd 
ears. 

KINGSLEY.  THE  WATER  BABIES:  A  FAIRY  TALE  FOR  A 
LAND  BABY.  By  Charles  Kingsley.  12mo.  Illustrated. 
330  pages. 

One  of  the  best  children's  stories  ever  written;  it  has  deservedly 
become  a  classic. 

LANGE.  OUR  NATIVE  BIRDS:  HOW  TO  PROTECT  THEM 
AND  ATTRACT  THEM  TO  OUR  HOMES.  By  D.  Lange. 
12mo.  Illustrated,  x  +  162  pages. 

A  strong  plea  for  the  protection  of  birds.  Methods  and  devices 
for  their  encouragement  are  given,  also  a  bibliography  of  helpful 
literature,  and  material  for  Bird  Day. 

LOVELL.       STORIES    IN    STONE    FROM   THE   ROMAN   FORUM. 

By  Isabel  Lovell.     12mo.     Illustrated,     viii  +  258  pages. 

The  eight  stories  in  this  volume  give  many  facts  that  travelers 
wish  to  know,  that  historical  readers  seek,  and  that  young  students 
enjoy.  The  book  puts  the  reader  in  close  touch  with  Roman  life. 

McFARLAND.  GETTING  ACQUAINTED  WITH  THE  TREES. 
By  J.  Horace  McFarland.  8vo.  Illustrated,  xi  4-  241  pages. 

A  charmingly  written  series  of  tree  essays.  They  are  not 
scientific  but  popular,  and  are  the  outcome  of  the  author's  desire 
that  others  should  share  the  rest  and  comfort  that  have  come  to. 
him  through  acquaintance  with  trees. 


MAJOR.  THE  BEARS  OF  BLUE  RIVER.  By  Charles  Major. 
12mo.  Illustrated.  277  pages. 

A  collection  of  good  bear  stories  with  a  live  boy  for  the  hero. 
The  scene  is  laid  in  the  early  days  of  Indiana. 

MARSHALL.  WINIFRED'S  JOURNAL.  By  Emma  Marshall. 
12mo.  Illustrated.  353  pages. 

A  story  of  the  time  of  Charles  the  First.  Some  of  the  characters 
are  historical  personages. 

MEANS.  PALMETTO  STORIES.  By  Celina  E.  Means.  12mo. 
Illustrated,  x  +  244  pages. 

True  accounts  of  some  of  the  men  and  women  who  made  the 
history  of  South  Carolina,  and  correct  pictures  of  the  conditions 
under  which  these  men  and  women  labored. 

MORRIS.  MAN  AND  HIS  ANCESTOR:  A  STUDY  IN  EVOLU 
TION.  By  Charles  Morris.  16mo.  Illustrated,  vii  +  238 
pages. 

A  popular  presentation  of  the  subject  of  man's  origin.  The 
various  significant  facts  that  have  been  discovered  since  Darwin's 
time  are  given,  as  well  as  certain  lines  of  evidence  never  before 
presented  in  this  connection. 

NEWBOLT.  STORIES  FROM  FROISSART.  By  Henry  Newbolt. 
12mo.  Illustrated,  xxxi  4-  368  pages. 

Here  are  given  entire  thirteen  episodes  from  the  "Chronicles" 
of  Sir  John  Froissart.  The  text  is  modernized  sufficiently  to  make 
it  intelligible  to  young  readers.  Separated  narratives  are  dove 
tailed,  and  new  translations  have  been  made  where  necessary  to 
make  the  narrative  complete  and  easily  readable. 

OVERTON.  THE  CAPTAIN'S  DAUGHTER.  By  Gwendolen 
Overton.  12mo.  Illustrated,  vii  +  270  pages. 

A  story  of  girl  life  at  an  army  post  on  the  frontier.  The  plot  is 
an  absorbing  one,  and  the  interest  of  the  reader  is  held  to  the  end. 

PALGRAVE.  THE  CHILDREN'S  TREASURY  OF  ENGLISH 
SONG.  Selected  and  arranged  by  Francis  Turner  Palgrave. 
16mo.  viii  +  302  pages. 

This  collection  contains  168  selections  —  songs,  narratives, 
descriptive  or  reflective  pieces  of  a  lyrical  quality,  all  suited  to  the* 
taste  and  understanding  of  children. 


8 

PALMER.  STORIES  FROM  THE  CLASSICAL  LITERATURE 
OF  MANY  NATIONS.  Edited  by  Bertha  Palmer.  12mo. 

xv  +  297  pages. 

A  collection  of  sixty  characteristic  stories  from  Chinese,  Japa 
nese,  Hebrew  Babylonian,  Arabian,  Hindu,  Greek,  Roman, 
German,  Scandinavian,  Celtic,  Russian,  Italian,  French,  Spanish, 
.Portuguese,  Anglo-Saxon,  English,  Finnish,  and  American  Indian 
sources. 

RIIS.  CHILDREN  OF  THE  TENEMENTS.  By  Jacob  A.  Riis. 
12mo.  Illustrated,  ix  +  387  pages. 

Forty  sketches  and  short  stories  dealing  with  the  lights  and 
shadows  of  life  in  the  slums  of  New  York  City,  told  just  as  they 
came  to  the  writer,  fresh  from  the  life  of  the  people. 

SANDYS.  WRAPPER  JIM.  By  Edwyn  Sandys.  12mo.  Illus 
trated,  ix  +  441  pages. 

A  book  which  will  delight  every  normal  boy.  Jim  is  a  city  lad 
who  learns  from  an  older  cousin  all  the  lore  of  outdoor  life  — 
trapping,  shooting,  fishing,  camping,  swimming,  and  canoeing. 
The  author  is  a  well-known  writer  on  outdoor  subjects. 

SEXTON.  STORIES  OF  CALIFORNIA.  By  Ella  M.  Sexton. 
12mo.  Illustrated,  x  +  211  pages. 

Twenty-two  stories  illustrating  the  early  conditions  and  the 
romantic  history  of  California  and  the  subsequent  development 
of  the  state. 

SHARP.  THE  YOUNGEST  GIRL  IN  THE  SCHOOL.  By  Evelyn 
Sharp.  12mo.  Illustrated,  ix  +  326  pages. 

Bab,  the  "  youngest  girl,"  was  only  eleven  and  the  pet  of  five 
brothers.  Her  ups  and  downs  in  a  strange  boarding  school  make 
an  interesting  story. 

SPARKS.  THE  MEN  WHO  MADE  THE  NATION:  AN  OUTLINE 
OF  UNITED  STATES  HISTORY  FROM  1776  TO  1861.  By 
Edwin  E.  Sparks.  12mo.  Illustrated,  viii  +  415  pages. 

The  author  has  chosen  to  tell  our  history  by  selecting  the  one 
man  at  various  periods  of  our  affairs  who  was  master  of  the  situ 
ation  and  about  whom  events  naturally  grouped  themselves. 
The  characters  thus  selected  number  twelve,  as  "Samuel  Adams, 
the  man  of  the  town  meeting"  ;  " Robert  Morris,  the  financier  of 
the  Revolution";  "Hamilton,  the  advocate  of  stronger  govern 
ment,"  etc.,  etc. 


9 

THACHER.  THE  LISTENING  CHILD.  A  selection  from  the 
stories  of  English  verse,  made  for  the  youngest  readers  and 
hearers.  By  Lucy  W.  Thacher.  12mo.  xxx  +  408  pages. 

Under  this  title  are  gathered  two  hundred  and  fifty  selections. 
The  arrangement  is  most  intelligent,  as  shown  in  the  proportions 
assigned  to  different  authors  and  periods.  Much  prominence  is 
given  to  purely  imaginative  writers.  The  preliminary  essay,  "A 
Short  Talk  to  Children  about  Poetry,"  is  full  of  suggestion. 

WALLACE.  UNCLE  HENRY'S  LETTERS  TO  THE  FARM 
BOY.  By  Henry  Wallace.  16mo.  ix  +  180  pages. 

Eighteen  letters  on  habits,  education,  business,  recreation,  and 
kindred  subjects. 

WEED.      LIFE     HISTORIES     OF     AMERICAN     INSECTS.      By 

Clarence  Moores  Weed.     12mo.     Illustrated,     xii  +  272  pages. 

In  these  pages  are  described  by  an  enthusiastic  student  of 
entomology  such  changes  as  may  often  be  seen  in  an  insect's 
form,  and  which  mark  the  progress  of  its  life.  He  shows  how  very 
wide  a  field  of  interesting  facts  is  within  reach  of  any  one  who  has 
the  patience  to  collect  these  little  creatures. 

WELLS.  THE  JINGLE  BOOK.  By  Carolyn  Wells.  12mo. 
Illustrated,  viii  +  124  pages. 

A  collection  of  fifty  delightful  jingles  and  nonsense  verses.  The 
illustrations  by  Oliver  Herford  do  justice  to  the  text. 

WILSON.      DOMESTIC    SCIENCE   IN    GRAMMAR    GRADES.      A 

Reader.     By  Lucy  L.  W.  Wilson.     12mo.     ix  +  193  pages. 

Descriptions  of  homes  and  household  customs  of  all  ages  and 
countries,  studies  of  materials  and  industries,  glimpses  of  the 
homes  of  literature,  and  articles  on  various  household  subjects. 

WILSON.  HISTORY  READER  FOR  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS. 
By  Lucy  L.  W.  Wilson.  16mo.  Illustrated,  xvii  -f  403 
pages. 

Stories  grouped  about  the  greatest  men  and  the  most  striking 
events  in  our  country's  history.  The  readings  run  by  months, 
beginning  with  September. 

WILSON.      PICTURE  STUDY  IN  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS.     By 

Lucy  L.  W.  Wilson.     12mo.     Illustrated. 


10 

Ninety  half-cone  reproductions  from  celebrated  paintings  both 
old  and  modern,  accompanied  by  appropriate  readings  from  the 
poets.  All  schools  of  art  are  represented. 

WRIGHT.     HEART   OF   NATURE.      By   Mabel   Osgood   Wright. 
12mo.     Illustrated. 

This  volume  comprises  "Stories  of  Plants  and  Animals," 
"Stories  of  Earth  and  Sky,"  and  "Stories  of  Birds  and  Beasts," 
usually  published  in  three  volumes  and  known  as  "The  Heart  of 
Nature  Series."  It  is  a  delightful  combination  of  story  and 
nature  study,  the  author's  name  being  a  sufficient  warrant  for  its 
interest  and  fidelity  to  nature. 

WRIGHT.      FOUR-FOOTED  AMERICANS  AND  THEIR  KIN.     By 

Mabel  Osgood  Wright,  edited  by  Frank  Chapman.     12mo. 
Illustrated,     xv  +  432  pages. 

An  animal  book  in  story  form.  The  scene  shifts  from  farm  to 
woods,  and  back  to  an  old  room,  fitted  as  a  sort  of  winter  camp, 
where  vivid  stories  of  the  birds  and  beasts  which  cannot  be  seen 
at  home  are  told  by  the  campfire,  —  the  sailor  who  has  hunted  the 
sea,  the  woodman,  the  mining  engineer,  and  wandering  scientist, 
each  taking  his  turn.  A  useful  family  tree  of  North  American 
Mammals  is  added. 

WRIGHT.     DOGTOWN.      By     Mabel     Osgood     Wright.     12mo. 
Illustrated,     xiii  +  405  pages. 

"Dogtown"  was  a  neighborhood  so  named  because  so  many 
people  loved  and  kept  dogs.  For  it  is  a  story  of  people  as  well  as 
of  dogs,  and  several  of  the  people  as  well  as  the  dogs  are  old  friends^ 
having  been  met  in  Mrs.  Wright's  other  books. 

YONGE.       LITTLE    LUCY'S    WONDERFUL    GLOBE.      By   Char 
lotte  M.  Yonge.     12mo.     Illustrated,     xi  +  140  pages. 

An  interesting  and  ingenious  introduction  to  geography.  In 
her  dreams  Lucy  visits  the  children  of  various  lands  and  thus 
learns  much  of  the  habits  and  customs  of  these  countries. 

YONGE.      UNKNOWN   TO   HISTORY.      By  Charlotte  M.  Yonge. 
12mo.     Illustrated,     xi  +  589  pages. 

A  story  of  the  captivity  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  told  in  the 
author's  best  vein. 


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